That Which We Cannot See
by Arinya
Summary: Post SoulSociety Arc, a power vacuum and instability run rampant through Sereitei due to the loss of its three captains.Ukitake finds a reluctant replacement for Aizen. The Arrancar war approaches...CH.19 UP!
1. Bankai

Title: That Which We Cannot See (WIP)  
Author: Arinya aka Neopluto.  
Notes: This story was conceived before episode 102 in the anime. There is not much emphasis on the Bounto as there is on the Arrancar. Please imagine (if you watched the anime), that the Bounto arc has passed with a little time between it and the upcoming Arrancar arc. Notes made in the manga are also part of the "universe" for this story. Japanese words and names are also used as sparingly as possible in order to lessen confusion. At this point, the only time you would see Japanese is for proper names and releasing of zanpaktous. If there are any glaring errors, feel free to email me about them.

Night was falling quickly in Sereitei. The tall buildings of the Pure Court of Souls cast long dark shadows, and a lone hell butterfly floated lighted to the outstretched finger of Ukitake Jyuushiro.

"A large host of Hollows near the Northern Gate?" he said to himself.

The setting sun make Ukitake's white hair flow like embers. He brushed a strand aside and let the hell butterfly go.

"Kiyone, Sentarou!"

Two blurs behind him turned into his Third Seat officers.

"Yes, Captain!" they barked in unison.

Ukitake turned around as Kiyone shot a dirty look under her closely-cropped brown hair to the shinigami kneeling beside her. He did the same. Ukitake bit back a small smile. The rivalry these two had would never cease to amuse him. But now, there were more important matters at hand.

"Dispatch a squad to the Northern Gate to clear out Hollows. It seems that they are posing a threat to the gatekeeper."

"Should we ask for backup from the Fifth Division?" asked Sentarou.

Ukitake thought for a second. The betrayal of Captain Aizen had emotionally scarred his Vice-Captain Hinamori Momo and rendered the Fifth Division useless. So instead the Commander-General decided that it would serve as a backup Division to all others while the matter of a new Captain and possibly a new Vice-Captain was dealt with.

He nodded to his officers who responded with curt bows and departed in a flurry of flash steps.

A large group of shinigami from the Fifth Division were gathered to be addressed by the officers from the Thirteeth. Sentarou and Kiyone were making sure that everyone was accounted for and stiffened to a sharp attention when their Captain came onto the scene.

"Members from the Fifth Division please meet the Hollows closest to the Gate while those from the Thirteenth Division go ahead to clear those Hollows that are approaching. Do not underestimate the strength of the Hollows and remember that unity is the best form of attack"

The shinigami acknowledged him loudly and set off to do as he said. He too kicked off the ground in a series of flash steps to oversee the effort. It always felt nice to move after being sick. He had been hit by another wave of blood-hacking coughs only a week ago and had recovered with the generous help of Unohana Retsu. To be able to breathe deeply was a god-given gift that he came to truly appreciate through his sickness. He gave a confident smile to one of his subordinates as he ran past them to meet the oncoming Hollows.

It was strange how peaceful everything seemed until they had exited the Gate. Suddenly the tell-tale white masks of the Hollows appeared all around them, and the ground shook with tremors. Shinigami unsheathed their swords and began to cut down Hollows as Divisions split. Ukitake watched his subordinates darted ahead and as those from the Third Squad were fighting hard here.

"Demon Art 33: Blue Fire, Crash Down!"

Ukitake turned his head just slightly as he crossed his blade with a Hollow. A bright blue cascade of lightning flashed to his left and destroyed a Hollow just as a shinigami flash-stepped through its remains. The Fifth Division was doing their job well and the Hollows near the Gate were thinning. Ukitake grunted as he defeated his Hollow and skipped ahead as well, cutting down smaller Hollows as he went past.

It seemed odd though, that as he went deeper into the surrounding forest the number of Hollows rose. He slashed at those that came too close to him and ignored the rest as he sought out the cause of this anomaly. He was buffeted by a strong wave of reiatsu and raised an arm to shield his face. The Hollows were all gathering here, towards a lone shinigami in the center of the clearing.

"You there!" he called out.

The woman, for he could see the shinigami's long black hair, seemed to not hear him. He took a breath to call out again before interfering himself, but his voice was drowned out in the resulting bang and flash.

"Bankai!"

Ukitake opened his eyes to see blazing concentric circles of yellow and orange surrounding the shinigami. She held a long naginata in her hand and as the Hollows rushed her from all directions she decimated them all, yellow flash after flash of explosions.

This shinigami had to be from the Fifth Division. He took it upon himself to know all those from his own Division. However he did not even feel as if he had ever seen this particular shinigami before. From his position he could make out her features to be quite plain. Her hair was tied up and wound into a loop or a bun at the back and the rest flew in the air like the tail of phoenix. Ukitake noticed his own hair wasn't quite sitting on his shoulders. She wasn't regulating her reitsu very well, or she was taking care to show its level off. The physical reaction from the force of her spirit was making even the branches of the trees sway back. He thought briefly of stopping her again, but the number of Hollows was becoming formidable. If he were to disturb her, who knew if she could keep up the precarious looking Bankai. It seemed as if she had been listening to his thoughts as the rings of light around her faded away and she destroyed the remaining Hollows. All of a sudden, Ukitake could not feel her reiatsu.

Again he tried calling out to her.

"Shinigami!" his voice rang out authoritatively.

She took one look at him and just when he thought she would approach, flash-stepped away with alarming speed. He stood, dumb-founded, then gave chase.

With the reiatsu gone and a head-start, he found it impossible to track the mystery shinigami. He stopped ontop of a roof, his brow furrowed. A shinigami who had achieved Bankai was one in very high demand. The power vacuum left by Aizen, Gin, and Tosen desperately needed filling. Aizen's Arrancar were already making regular trips into Sereitei, creating chaos and mayhem wherever they went, and the lack of three Captains as well as the functionality of three Divisions was creating enormous difficulties. The Commander-General had made an announcement before for all those who had achieved Bankai to step forward. No one except Vice-Captain Abarai Renji had. But even then it was thought best to keep him under Kuchiki Byakuya because of Abarai's lack of control emotionally with his Bankai.

Ukitake heaved a sigh and headed towards his private dwelling. He resolved to find the shinigami in the morning.


	2. Shinigami Found

"Did you hear? Captain Ukitake has called the Fifth Division to stand out in the central plaza!"

"Well it figures. They're up to no good these days...useless bunch of jerks led by that traitor!"

The two shinigami were silenced as Sentarou passed by them, casting a harsh glare. He was seeing to the gathering of the Fifth Division. Captain Ukitake had given him and Kiyone explicit instructions to not let any of those shinigami slip out of the plaza. His gaze swept past the multitude of black uniforms. Though he didn't know the true purpose behind this impromptu gathering, he would fulfill his orders as best as he could.

Ukitake himself was watching the procession from the balcony of a building high above the plaza. His officers were doing their jobs well, and he commended them for that. He looked for the mystery shinigami from up above, but failed to see her. He had spoken to the Commander-General early this morning, and it was agreed that he first try to coax the shinigami out into considering taking an open Captain position herself. If that did not work, then more forceful measures would have to be taken. But it was upon the honor of the shinigami as fellow warriors that he was giving this one chance to her. He hoped that she had not attempted to hide. When he recieved a message saying that all shinigami from the Fifth were in place, he went out to address them.

"Good morning Fifth Division," he said, "I have called you out here not as punishment, but because I am curious as to the abilities of one your own. Last night as we routed that Hollows near the Northern Gate, I came upon a shinigami who had achieved Bankai. If any of you know of this shinigami or are her, please feel free to step forward"

There was a murmer among the crowd, but no one came forth. Ukitake pressed his lips into a grim smile.

"Please note that I am presenting you with a chance to come of your own free will. As Sereitei is in a state of emergency, if this chance is not grasped, more direct measures will be taken"

Again there was a rustle within the group of shinigami, and once again, no results. At this point, Ukitake had had enough of this nonsense. He nodded at all his Seated Officers who made a ring around the Fifth Division.

"Stand in rows of twelve. If any of you attempt to escape, I will personally stop you"

The shinigami obediently arranged themselves as asked. Those from the Thirteenth watched carefully as the rows were formed. When they were done, Ukitake walked up to the first row and dismissed them. They stood behind him as he continued to the second. This row too was dismissed, and Ukitake continued the sift through the Fifth in this fashion until he reached the center. Right in front of him was a female shinigami with the hairstyle he had seen during that night. She looked straight at him, but didn't make a move. His lips thinned. The very sight of her heavy-lidded eyes was provoked something inside him. She didn't seem to be opening her eyes completely, or was looking down upon him even though he was much taller than her. She tipped her pale face up just slightly to meet his eyes. There was something truly dissatisfying about her.

"Your name shinigami?" he asked.

"Cheru Tsuikyuu," she said quietly.

"Were you part of the squad that fought the Hollows last night?" he asked.

"Yes"

"Did you use Bankai?"

Her gaze didn't waver as she answered with another solid "Yes".

He raised his voice so that all the other shinigami would hear.

"All from the Fifth please go about your regular duties, thank you for gathering here"

He now stood with Cheru and his officers. He dismissed them as well and turned to speak to her again.

"Why did you refuse to show yourself?" he asked her sternly.

"I didn't want to," she answered.

"You do realize that the Thirteen Divisions is in dire need of Captains, don't you?"

"Yes"

Ukitake was beginning to get frustrated with her laconic responses. Although she had answered truthfully to his questions, she was not offering any more information than just what he asked for. Was she playing some sort of game with him? No, her eyes looked much too serious for that. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"Why do you not want to become Captain?" he asked, a much more direction question.

"It is not why I became a shinigami," she said, and left it at that.

As much he wanted to know what she meant by that, he had no time for that sort of conversation. Instead he began to give her an ultimatum.

"You have a day to willingly present yourself as a candidate for Captain of the Fifth Division. If you do not contact me or the Commander-General in that time, then I will have him summon you instead. Is this clear?" he said.

"Yes"

He thought he had heard the slightest trace of reproach, but ignored it.

"You are dismissed Cheru Tsuikyuu," he said curtly.

He watched as she walked away, seemingly unconcerned by everything that had just occured. He felt a tingling in his chest and mentally told himself to calm down. Nevertheless, he gave a small cough.


	3. A Test of Ability

A/N: I rushed the writing of this, so I added a little more. Nothing essential has been changed.

* * *

When Cheru arrived at her Division Headquarters she was greeted by a host of unfriendly faces. Shinigami gave her sideways looks from all around and did their best to ignore her as she neared them. Their reception of her had always been less-than-exemplary, but today it was especially cold. No doubt it was due to what had just occurred. Sereitei was more of a military society than anything else, and disobedience of a direct order meant more than just disappointment from officials; it meant ostracization from your Division. She had never been popular among her own. Ever since she had been admitted to the Fifth from the Academy, she had tended to be a loner and decline what help those enthusiastic shinigami tried to give her from the beginning. Soon they realized that she didn't want to be bothered by anyone and stopped approaching her. People came to see her as a kind of Ice Queen and spoke of unpleasant things when she had her back turned. Cheru showed no care for what they said; she had other things on her mind. These things she did not care to think about deeply, but kept as a constant reminder of why she had joined the ranks of the shinigami.

She could see that her Squad was not signed up as backup for any other Divisions that day, and left Headquarters for her private quarters. She felt disappointed above all else. All those hundreds of years spent on perfecting her techniques and learning to mask her reiatsu had gone to waste. If she were a more uncouth person she would have damned Captain Ukitake a thousand times over, but as she walked, she only vowed to herself that she would do better now. Yet still, as she tried to contain herself, the feeling of a great loss remained.

"All these years, trying to protect myself...what did I gain from that? Nothing, only what I was avoiding," she said to herself softly.

Now again, she was lapsing into old habits. Sliding open the door of her room she stepped inside to sit down and think.

It had been a direct order. _"You have a day to willingly present yourself for Captain of the Fifth Division"_. She could not ignore that. She was surprised by the bite to Captain Ukitake though, he had managed to attach a threat to this as well. As much as she wanted to stay inconspicuous and hidden, she had been found out and warned publically. If she didn't heed this message or attempted to run, the consequences would be dire.

_"Is that clear?"_ His words rang in her head.

She pursed her lips just slightly, her face was unused to creating new contours. He had her then.

"Yes," she said to herself.

The next morning came too quickly. Cheru dressed in her black uniform and pinned her hair up into a small loop behind her head, letting the rest fall on her back. She tucked her zanpaktou into her belt and headed out to the Captains' Hall in order to present herself. When she came to the large doors that led to the Hall, the guards waiting silently opened them for her. As she stepped through, she looked straight ahead, past all the Captains at the sides, at the Commander-General. It was much too quiet, she could hear the echoes of her footfalls and the odd rustle here and there. She stopped a respectful distance away from the Commander-General and paused.

"Why have you come before the Captains of the Gotei 13?" the Commander-General asked in a powerful voice.

It was time to make the request formal.

"I, Cheru Tsuikyuu, wish to be Captain of the Fifth Division"

"Captain Ukitake has told me that you have achieved Bankai. That is a worthy accomplishment indeed...but it concerns us greatly that you have not given this information freely"

She did not answer. A question had not been explicity posed.

"And so it stands to reason that you wished to hide this for an indefinite time. As Aizen also hid his Bankai, you are also suspicious to us. Why have you hidden your abilities Cheur Tsuikyuu?"

Another direct order. It could not be helped, but it could be evaded.

"I had no desire to become Captain Sir," she said.

"Personal desires have nothing to do with war child!" he thundered, "Regardless of what you _wished_, you should have reported to us directly that you had Bankai. Your credibility as a shinigami is in much doubt. How could we ensure that Aizen has not influenced you as well?"

His reiatsu swelled up and Cheru's hair flew back. This was an unpleasant reminder to Captain Shunsui of his Vice Captain Nanao Ise's encounter with the Commander-General months ago. But surprisingly enough Cheru's own reiatsu spiked and she dispelled the wind. As her hair settled on her back, she looked up at him.

"You cannot. I have only my word as a shinigami," she said.

There was a silence as people tried to take in what was going on. It seemed to them that Cheru was being incredibly unreceptive and rebellious. Ukitake knew better than most that she only had to be forced into telling them a complete answer, but it would be impolite to interrupt now. The Commander-General, too, was beginning to realize this however, and see, there was a difference between the much slyer Aizen and the more subdued shinigami before him.

"Then we will proceed," he said, in a calmer manner.

"When did you achieve Bankai?"

"Several hundred years ago," she said.

"Have you been training to achieve Bankai ever since releasing Shikai?"

It seemed that he was now understanding how she chose to answer questions.

"Yes"

"What type of Bankai is it?"

"Energy/Light," she replied.

"Have you perfected this technique?"

It was here Cheru said more than she had during the entire interrogation.

"Can one ever perfect a technique to the point where it cannot improve or evolve?"

The Commander-General looked at her for a moment then gave a grunt.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, Soifon, Ukitake Jyuushiro," as the Commander-General called each of these names, the respective Captains looked up, "We will witness the Bankai in the training court. Remaining Captains may return to their duties until called"

Cheru left the room flanked by Captain Soifon and Ukitake, with Captain Kuchiki in the front and the Commander-General keeping a close watch on her from behind. There was a tension in the air, most notably from Soifon who narrowed her eyes whenever she looked at her. Upon reaching the training court, the Captains gave her a considerable radius of distance. The Commander-General stayed much farther back than the rest, but she was sure that he would see everything.

No words were exchanged as she took her space. Cheru drew her sword with her fingers facing in. Most shinigami preferred to do it the other way, but she had developed her own style of fighting, and her zanpaktou was also shorter than most. It slid easily out of its scabbard and she held it horizontally in front of her.

"Ban...kai!"

She let the cover over her reiatsu drop as a glowing circle was drawn into the ground around her. Another concentric ring formed around her and blazed with orange fire as the next began to form. Ukitake, Soifon, and Byakuya shot each other a look as they flash-stepped backwards to avoid the next ring. Cheru's Bankai was taking up more room than they thought. As the last ring came into place, Cheru's zanpaktou glowed a brilliant white as it changed form into a long, curved naginata. She swung her arm down with the blade behind her back as she waited now for the Captains.

The three Captains watched as Cheru stood in the center of the four rings. They had each noted the incredible rise in the level of her reiatsu as she released Bankai. It was clearly Captain level and carefully hidden at that. The Commander-General gave Byakuya a meaningful look, and the younger Captain unsheathed his sword.

_"Chire"_

His sword separated into what many called "petals," and reflected a pink light as they sped towards Cheru. They attempted to shear through the outer ring, but could not and only grazed them slightly as a bright yellow-orange flash erupted.

"_Senbonzakura Kageyoshi_"

Byakuya looked unconcerned as the rows of swords appeared beside him and dispersed into a massive flurry of petals. He cast a hand towards Cheru and the petals rushed the outermost ring. There was a flash as they broke through and headed for the second barrier. All of a sudden, yellow energy projectiles were released from the innermost circle and collided with Senbonzakura. Again her reiatsu level had rose. Byakuya redirected his zanpaktou to attack her again, this time it was a more evasive attack. Senbonzakura twisted and turned as the energy projectiles chased it. The aerial battle became moot as they exploded into each other again.

As Byakuya attacked more forcefully each time, Cheru provided the perfect counter, and soon it became more of a dance than a battle.

"Proceed," said the Commander-General.

There was a pause as Byakuya acknowledged the order. Ukitake watched his reactions, it was interesting to note since he knew that the younger man was protective of his Bankai. He had never liked to show it off. Nevertheless, he recalled Senbonzakura and went on to commit to the final form of his sword.

"_Senkei...Senbonzakura Kageyoshi_!"

Senbonzakura disappeared as it reformed itself into the rows and rows of glowing pink swords surrounding both participants and spectators. Byakuya called down a sword and headed towards Cheru in flash-step. It was much easier to dodge the projectiles as they came after him. He flash-stepped off the ground and crossed the outer boundary in the air, making it well into her territory. Suddenly he couldn't see anything but debris. His body was jolted and he realized as he fell through the air that the rings enclosing him had exploded quite unexpectedly. His ears rang as he regained altitude and called down another sword to replace the one he dropped.

Cheru was looked up at him as he descended upon her. Her naginata was still in a relaxed position. He flash-stepped towards her and brought his sword down. It was met by resistance as she blocked the blow. At the same time there was another explosion, but he was ready for it this time and continued to press onto Cheru's defense. He stumbled just slightly as she flash-stepped backwards. As he gave chase she came shooting back with a more offensive approach.

The Captains watched as Cheru became increasingly aggressive, thrusting and stabbing at whatever open opportunity there was. Byakuya took it in stride as he blocked and parried effortlessly, but he wasn't making headway against her. Ukitake had to admire how gracefully her body followed the movements of the naginata, at the same time however, it was a little frightening to see how much everything had changed about her. The way she held her katana much different from the forward way she held the naginata now, how every movement she made with her new weapon was trying to go through Byakuya.

The two flash-stepped in the air, criss-crossing and dodging with a fearsomely fast speed. Cheru noticed how relaxed Byakuya was as he attacked her, she could never hope to match his true speed, but she pushed herself a little more, avoiding each hit with a narrower margin than the next. He had seemingly disappeared, and she switched grips to strike behind her. He was there just as she predicted, it didn't matter that she couldn't see him, yet he managed to dodge again.

Cheru ran toward the ground and turning, she put two fingers up.

"Destructive Art 4: White Lightning!"

A streak of bright white charged reiatsu shot from her fingertips towards Byakuya, only to be met by another energy bolt. She slid on the ground, bending her knees to slow herself down. So her had countered her attack, and with such perfect timing too.

However oddly enough, Cheru felt more refreshed as she fought. She had sought out the Hollows as practice for her Bankai and fighting skills, but they were small game compared to what she was up against now. Her body flowed effortlessly with the naginata, and the new element here was that she had to add more forcefulness. Byakuya had not been touched by even the wind of her blows so far. Every hair on his face was intact, while she could feel that she was beginning to wear out. He had broken through her rings quickly by going to his own Bankai in quick succession, and she wasn't as adept in just weapons-combat. The feeling of freedom was beginning to evaporate as she felt a familiar crushing sensation in her chest. A memory surfaced that she had kept suppressed. Faces appeared that she had kept locked away.

Byakuya could see the slightest hint of expression on Cheru's face as she fought and noticed her thrusts were starting to become a little desperate. He called down several more swords to pierce through Cheru. She cut two down in a wide arc with her naginata, and rolled away from the others.

She was panting as he drew his hand back in order to utter a kidou spell.

"Destructive Art 33: Way of Destruction!"

Cheru instinctively flash-stepped through the white lightning before the spirit particles could form and held her weapon forward. Blood pounded in her ears as she side-stepped and thrust her blade at him. But she could hear the screech of metal grinding on metal. He had predicted her movement and his sword was sliding along the blade of her naginata. She stopped short to find his blade against her neck.

"Hn," he said, noticing that he was also being held at the heart.

They stood at mutual checkmate for a little while, looking straight at each other. A signal from the Commander-General allowed for them to each withdraw their weapons. Byakuya let Senbonzakura take its original form as Cheru did the same with her zanpaktou.

"The Captains of the Gotei 13 will discuss the issue of your captaincy Cheru Tsuikyuu. You will be notified when a final decision has been made. You are dismissed," said the Commander-General.

Cheru bowed respectfully and watched as they departed. Byakuya gave her a look that lasted a half a second long, but it was considered a compliment from such an aloof captain. She waited until they were gone to unclench her hands which were shaking.


	4. Finalized

A/N: Thanks to all reviewers, it warms a heart to read these. (It also keeps a story going, haha). I hope the questions you have don't plague you, they will all be answered in good time. Enjoy!

* * *

"Her reiatsu clearly exceeds the level of normal shinigami," said Byakuya once the Captains were all assembled again before the Commander-General.

"It's interesting that she kept it hidden for so long, even during the battle," said Soifon.

"She does not seem deceitful..._merely_, hidden," said Eighth Divsion Captain Kyouraku Shunsui in a slightly amused manner.

"It stinks of Aizen," said Seventh Division Captain Konamura Sajin fiercely, his yellow eyes glittering, "Even she herself acknowledges that we cannot trust her"

"If Aizen had taken Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname, it stands to reason that he would have also taken any other accomplices," sid Byakuya.

The Captains thought over this for a moment, but it was clear the Konamura was still against finalizing Cheru's captaincy.

"I refuse to accept such a person as her as a fellow Captain. Surely the security of Sereitei cannot be compromised for one shinigami!"

"I see no danger in allowing her to assume captaincy of the Fifth Division. Her track record is meticulously clean and she has displayed ample skills in combat," said soft and clear voice of Fourth Division Captain Unohana Retsu

"No doubt because she is following in Aizen's footsteps," snarled Konamura.

"Calm yourself Konamura. Not everyone has betrayed your path of righteousness," said Twelfth Division Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

Mayuri's black-painted face twisted into a sickly-looking smile as Konamura growled.

"In any case. If Captain Kuchiki did defeat her easily, I see no problems. Let us proceed with promoting her. It would at least keep the Fifth Division out of trouble," he said.

"I would like to note that the deterioration of the Fifth Division needs to be stopped soon with Aizen's forces making clear attempts to break into Sereitei," said Tenth Division Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro.

"Captain Unohana," said the Commander-General.

"Yes Commander-General," she said.

"Do you find Cheru Tsuikyuu as a viable candidate?"

The Captains waited for her response as she blinked slowly and thought it over.

"Cheru Tsuikyuu has not shown herself to be a malevolent or corrupt person. What she is hiding we can always reveal. Captain Mayuri brings up the most important point though that the Fifth Division needs some sort of leadership. I believe that she is the best person for the position as she is already part of the Fifth"

"Then I put it to you Captain Unohana, you will ensure that she is of good mental-health. The rest of the Captains will watch her closely to see that there is nothing truly suspicious. However I am sure that Captain Mayuri's reconnaissance will be enough for this"

Mayuri chittered with delight.

"Understand this however, that from now on Cheru Tsuikyuu is a Captain and will be treated as such. Any breaches of this ordinance will be dealt with, harshly"

Mayuri's victory laugh was cut short by this comment, and he sulked next to Shunsui.

"Captain's Tsuikyuu's Sealing and Coat Ceremony will be three days from now. Captain Konamura, Shunsui, and Unohana will assist me. This Captains' meeting is now over, you are dismissed," said the Commander-General.

Konamura's displeasure was apparant as he stalked away. The other Captains parted ways, going about their regular duties again. Mayuri was stopped short by his Vice-Captain appearing.

"Captain Mayuri, the latest report on Arrancar and Hollow activity requires your immediate attention," said Vice-Captain Nemu Kurotsuchi.

"Bah," he said irritably, "Always the Arrancar to interrupt me when I'm about to gather information"

"Should I analyze this myself then, Captain Mayuri?" asked Nemu.

"No. You would do a shitty job of it anyway," he said nonchalantly.

Ukitake gave him a distasteful look as he spoke to Shunsui.

"Yes, Captain Mayuri," said Nemu, bowing.

-+-

Cheru sat on the roof of a pavilion. For the first time in a long time, she felt something different from the usual inner clarity she had strived to create. It was...fear. She had come to expect that displaying her Bankai would lead to a test of her abilities, but she had not forseen a relapse on her part. Captain Kuchiki was faster than most people described him as, and even during the battle, she could sense that there was nothing akin to a killing intent in his movements. Yet as they fought she had felt something else grip her heart and limbs. Cheru flinched as she felt a phantom blow.

She had no doubts that people would tell her that it was silly to hold onto a memory for such a long time. However as much as she tried to confront it in past, she had always found the same thing happening again. It seemed that she could not escape it. What she had eventually learned to do was to lock the memories away and never visit them, and concentrated on one thing her entire life, protecting herself.

Looking back on it now, she realized with a hint of ironic mirth that she had never really been liked by her peers. The time for reflection was over, it was becoming uncomfortable. She stood and turned to leave. There would be nothing to do however; her schedule had been cleared out from the moment she had been singled out by the other Captains. At least there time now to speak with her sword, go over their mistakes, and strength their resolve.

As Cheru made her way across Sereitei, she was stopped by Captain Unohana.

"Captain Unohana," she said.

"Are you feeling well Cheru? I heard your battle was quite vigorous," said Unohana, smiling at her.

"I am fine," she said and waited for a dismissal.

"If you need anything, feel free to speak with me"

"Of course," said Cheru.

As Unohana didn't move and she was making Cheru feel strangely, she moved past her with a small bow. It seemed that the Captain was trying to either make nice with her or gather information. However no one would be able to do either unless it was by direct order.

It was a day of omens as when Cheru reached her quarters a hell-butterfly was waiting for her. She let it sit on her finger as it relayed a message for her. It would be three days until she would be Sealed. She released it and stepped into her room.


	5. Tea

Sealing was a measure reserved for those who were Seated Officers or Captains. It was thought that from those positions, a shinigami had the power to considerably alter their surroundings in the real world. Sealing had been implemented in order to limit their powers only, not those of all shinigami. It was also a complicated process, requiring at least two Captain-level shinigami to perform it. Not much else was known by the common shinigami because there was no need to spread that kind of knowledge. Cheru herself had never been interested in attaining Captainship and had never bothered to find out. Yet now she was sitting in her room tattooing herself with a sharp bone needle. The message from yesterday had included instructions for her. She was to mark herself with the insignia of her Division somwhere on her chest and not involve herself in intense exercise or meditation until after the Sealing had taken place.

Cheru took this as a drill in pain resistance. She tried not to wince as she drew in the lines of the plum blossoms just under her collarbone. The needle drew blood where it also added ink, but she kept her reiatsu at reasonable levels to stop the bleeding immediatly. A drop of perspiration rolled down the side of her head as she moved on to the next plum blossom.

By the time she had finished, the area she had done it on was swollen and tender to the touch. She wiped her brow and proceeded to tidy up the room. She replaced the needle back into its case and capped the ink, putting both items back on a shelf. Her uniform was still uncharacteristically loose, and she tightened it so that the new mark was not visible anymore.

She was disappointed that she could not talk to her zanpaktou. There was no one else to speak to and she had no desire to seek Captain Unohana. She slid a finger down the scabbard and apologized silently. There was nothing more to do today than to relax, which is what the Captains of the Gotei 13 seemed to want her to do. She left to walk along the gardens of Sereitei.

The wind was pleasant as Cheru came into the gardens. She stopped to watch the petals of a cherry blossom being peeled off by the breeze. Mesmerizing, as much as it was nostalgic...of Byakuya.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Cheru turned to see Captain Ukitake standing beside her. She hadn't seen him, small surprise, she hadn't had peripheral vision for a while. He gave her a small smile.

"I apologize for my behavior before. You understand though, that it was required."

"Yes..." she said.

He turned back to the garden. There was silence for a while as they each enjoyed the scenery. Cheru turned just slighty to watch Ukitake instead. He seemed utterly at peace as he looked out ahead of him. His lips were somewhat dry, but he looked much better than he had several days ago.

"Ah, Cheru, in order for us to get to know each other better, would you join me for tea?" he asked.

His voice carried a familiar firmness to it as it had before. She looked down slightly as she accepted his invitation.

Cheru had the briefest illusion of taking his hand and he lifted it off the railing of the walk. Again, back to the memories, she had to stop that. She kept her hands down as he beckoned to her to follow him. They didn't walk very far to find his private quarters. He slid open the door for her and she went inside. It was a spartan room with a bedroll pushed to the side and a small table with cushions set up in the center. She felt awkward and displaced as she stood in the room. She looked back at him for guidance.

"Feel free to sit down Cheru. I'll bring the tea"

Ukitake left to another room as Cheru sat down on a cushion. She tried to be as still as possible as to not disturb even the air until he returned. Everything felt so strange to her. She had never spent a significant amount of time anywhere except for her own room and Division Headquarters. However, she had the feeling that she would be seeing the interior of Ukitake's room for a while yet. She stiffened as he reentered with a pot of tea. He sat and poured into both of their mugs. The aroma of plum tea rose in the air. Cheru stared at her cup. Omens?

"You seem surprised," Ukitake commented.

She looked up at him.

"No," she said quickly.

"It's my favorite tea," he explained, taking a sip, "Good for the body as well." He smiled wryly.

"Is...something funny?" Cheru asked, becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his friendliness.

His face split into another smile.

"Is there?" he put a hand through his hair, "I wasn't aware. Forgive me if you thought I was mocking you in any way"

Cheru drank the tea so she wouldn't have to respond.

They sat in silence for a while. Cheru put down her mug and folded her hands in her lap. She waited for a signal to take leave.

Ukitake however, seemed to enjoy the silence in which they sat. He made no motion to coax her to talk and tended to his own business. His white hair sat on his shoulders in a very relaxed manner, and he brushed a strand aside as he took another sip of his tea. He didn't seem to notice how action on Cheru's part had ceased. Teatime after all, was a time for meditation and reverie.

"If you don't mind, I beg your leave," said Cheru.

Ukitake looked mildly surprised.

"We're of the same rank now. There's no need for you to beg," he reminded her gently.

Cheru flinched at the idea.

"It would be nice to do this again," he said, perhaps after your Sealing?"

It was suddenly apparant to her that she could refuse. She hesitated for a precious moment, allowing Ukitake to chuckle.

"In any case, I enjoyed your company," he said.

Cheru merely looked at him, and said a curt farewell before leaving. Ukitake heaved a small sigh and went back into his living space.


	6. The Ceremony

It's nice to know that the story's being read, but I really would love some reviews. For the hungry author? puppyface

* * *

The next two days were uneventful, filled with wandering around grounds and trying not to see anyone. The swelling from the tattoo had gone down and Cheru looked at it absentmindedly every morning as she dressed. Today was the day of Sealing.

Cheru made her way to the the assigned chamber and found the Commander-General waiting with the three Captains who were supposed to help in this endeavor. Captain Kyouraku winked at her and gave her a suggestive look. Captain Konamura merely stared and Captain Unohana stood quietly at their side.

"Arrange yourselves," said the Commander-General.

"Captain Tsuikyuu, if you would stand in the center," said Captain Unohana.

Cheru blinked, the use of her new title of unexpected, but she did as directed. She watched as Captain Kyouraku and Konamura stood in front of her at a distance, Captain Unohana was obscured from view. Cheru untied the bow of her top, pulling down her uniform just enough so that the new emblem was visible.

Captain Konamura shifted his feet and raised his hands, making arcane shapes with them. He began to chant.

"The red mask laughs, raking its black claws across the sky. 96 crows flap, gathering the wind. Course!"

The air in the room began to palpitate and thrum and he spoke. Cheru felt her reiatsu rising against her will, she instinctively tried to rein it back in and mask it, but the force of Captain Konamura's determinatoin was too strong. The cement ground cracked under the pressure, and Cheru took a step back.

Captain Konamura's eyes flashed as he made a triangle with his hands and thrust it at Cheru.

"Binding Art 101: The Gathering!"

The Captains watched as Cheru's normally passive face split into a grimace for a just a moment. She was resisting too much to having her reiatsu pulled from her, but Captain Konamura was doing a fine job of dispelling her attempts to pull it back in.

Captain Kyouraku extended two fingers towards Cheru time time, using the other hand to tip his hat over his face.

"Lightning in the sky splits the great arena in two. Heaven. Earth. Air. Water"

Cheru felt as if she were being cleaved in half. She sought not to struggle and clenched her eyes shut as the process went on. Her feet were covered with broken cement blocks.

Captain Kyouraku now made a motion with his hand, and held it flat vertically and stretched it towards Cheru.

"As rain descends, only a thread remains. Discourse! Binding Art 102: Separation Technique!"

Cheru made a noise as she was being pushed back by the enormous amount of reiatsu returning to her body. The sign of the Fifth burned warmly.

"The serpent lies down to rest"

The soft voice of Captain Unohana was behind her.

"Turning of the night and day, body and soul. I reject! Binding Art 103: White Wind!"

Cheru felt a force extend from her that pushed her back against the reiatsu streaming from the two male Captains in front of her. As everyone's spiritual energy dissipated, Cheru's head dipped. Her fingers worked slowly to tie her uniform again. She felt disoriented and exhausted as the three Captains stood in front of her again. The feeling of being chopped in half was replaced now with something else. She couldn't quite identify it, but there was a definite separation of her total reiatsu.

"Ah, you look beautiful with your hair like that Captain Tsuikyuu," said Shunsui with a flirtatious smile.

Cheru took a deep breath and straightened. The fact that she was a Captain in her own right had sunken in now, mostly. The ordeal would have been enough to cement anyone's beliefs. She took a step towards him, and found her balance to be off. She saw Unohana make a move towards her but quickly averted her gaze. She didn't want her.

The other Captains were now filtering into the room, standing around her in parallel lines. A folded white bundle was placed before her, bold black lines proudly marking the Fifth Division.

Cheru looked up at the Commander-General, waiting for a sign. He nodded and she unfolded the bundle, revealing a long-sleeved coat. She put it on and stood.

"Congratulations, Captain Tsuikyuu," said the Commander-General.

The other Captains clapped politely as she stood. When that was over she was approached by Unohana.

"Are you feeling well?" Captain Tsuikyuu?" she asked.

Cheru wasn't, the Sealing had left her drained, but she refused to let Unohana bother her with anymore nonsensical questions and prodding. So she did what she hadn't in a long time; she lied.

"Quite," she said, surprised by her own tone of voice, so tart and sarcastic.

Unohana didn't bat an eye. She merely nodded in her usual congenial way and allowed her to pass.

"Congratulations," said Hitsugaya, acknowledging her with a fierce glare of his ice-blue eyes.

"Thank you," said Cheru, continuing on her way out.

Others also conveyed their commendations to her. When she had left the chamber, she could finally take a deep breath and sigh. She was free, for the most part. The idea of having new duties was not foreign to her, and she left immediatly towards her division Headquarters. Upon arriving there she was greeted by a low-seated officer. There was a brief pause as she wondered what to do, what to say, but it seemed that an announcement had been made already and the shinigami bowed to her and handed her several folders full of papers.

She took them wordlessly and went into her new office. It was sparsely decorated, but there were several very nice looking pens on the desk. She picked one up and examined it. A man's pen. It was typical of Aizen, she supposed, she hadn't known him very well. She put down the papers and sat, looking through each sheet. They were filled with complaints, requests, and other bureacratic things. She thumbed through all of them and signed whichever she felt needed her signature and left the rest.

Being in the office reminded her of what the Fifth Division actually stood for. Before Aizen had left, it had been the division for Home Training and Defense. Nowadays it had fallen into stagnation. Cheru gazed at the pen in her hand. She supposed that now she would have to whip the entire division into shape. It was, unfortunately, her new responsibility.

However, despite the prospect of a greater burden on her shoulders, Cheru couldn't help but look at the paperwork in front of her and feel bored.


	7. Times Change

A/N: I was beyond happy when I read the responses to the previous chapter. Thank you all so much for reviewing, not just because it's a review, but because it's great to hear what people think. I hope you all enjoy this, I'm afraid I'm sounding a bit OOC, but try to help me out with it, I'm doing my best.

* * *

In the following days, Cheru grew more accustomed to life as a Captain instead of a lowly shinigami-grunt. Her duties were more home-bound and she hardly had the time to explore Sereitei. Paperwork was just as daunting as any other duty, but more in terms of tedious repetitiveness and inter-Division politics. She had been visited by a seated officer only yesterday who came asking about the release forms she had signed. She gave him the sort of answer that most people hated, a staredown and swift turn on the heel. "It is not your business what I sign and what I don't," she had said. He had been unable to do anything, and the newfound bureaucratic power was quite heartening. However after several rounds of such face-offs, she was beginning to tire and just signaled that she wasn't interested in hearing complaints with a half-hearted wave of her hand.

Another reason she would not have wanted to be Captain was quickly forming in her head. She was glad at least, that Unohana Retsu had stayed out of her way. Cheru looked up as a hell butterfly made it way over to her. A disturbance, the hint of Arrancar near the gates? She let it go and hurried to the area that was reported.

When she arrived, she found several shinigami posted there already. They looked at her quizzically.

"Um, Captain Tsuikyuu, we have everything under control here," said one shinigami.

The shinigami seemed unnerved that she was present among them. She looked at the gate, it was well-manned, obviously a frequented post. Her brow creased just slightly as she nodded curtly to them and turned to go.

"Shouldn't a Lieutennant be doing legwork like that?" one of them muttered non too quietly.

_Let them be_, she thought to herself. No matter what position she was in, she would always invite ridicule and scorn. She had accepted this long ago.

Cheru headed back to her Division Headquarters slowly, meandering as she went along. That office was just as much a prison as any other. She quelled the feeling of resent, and walked the path overlooking the court below.

"Captain Tsuikyuu!" came an all too familiar voice.

"Ahh, Cheru, it's wonderful to see you again!" and yet another.

Cheru stood, scissored by two Captains. Unohana Retsu stood to her right, Ukitake Jyuushiro to her left. She was silent for a moment, calculating, and took a step towards the white-haired Captain.

"Our date is long-overdue, don't you think so Captain Ukitake?" she asked mildly, walking past him towards his quarters.

Ukitake seemed startled and regained his composure as Cheru passed him by. He brushed his hair away from his face and shrugged a bit.

"Well that was unexpected. I'm sorry Unohana, but it seems I have other business to attend to"

"Oh that isn't a problem at all," she said softly, "In fact, I would like it if we spoke again sometime soon, regarding our new Captain"

"Of course," said Ukitake, and took a look over his shoulder, "Ill be going now"

Cheru had walked quite quickly. She was halfway there by the time Ukitake caught up with her. _Fleeing, are you?_ she asked herself wryly. Since when had she become so weak that she couldn't stand up to authority on her own?

"Fleeing, are you?"

Cheru turned suddenly, her face serious. Ukitake hadn't expected this kind of response and backed away a couple steps to give her space.

"I'm sorry--"

"No," said Cheru quickly, "You...nothing," she said, covering up rather poorly.

She walked slower now, letting Ukitake keep up with her.

"You can always tell Unohana that she's bothering you," said Ukitake after a while.

The statement didn't warrant an answer, even though something was tugging on Cheru's tongue to reply. She kept her lips tightly shut and looked straight ahead. The sun was setting beside them, casting magnificent shadows over the buildings of Sereitei.

"Forgive me for prying, but...are you full of fear?"

"Y-," She had to remember that she wasn't just a shinigami anymore. If she had gained anything, it was the legitimacy to lie. She bit down on her tongue.

"No," she said.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," said Ukitake, "Now that is a man full of fear. He hides it you see, makes it into something else, an accessory of his nobility. You could never get him to admit anything, but you can see it in his eyes. He is a man who has everything in the world, but is afraid of losing it in an instant."

Again, the irresitible tug.

She loosened.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Ukitake turned to her and grinned.

"Oh I don't know, musing I guess"

Cheru wanted to shake her skin off.

They arrived at his quarters a few minutes later, sharing tea, few words, and a few more "musings". Cheru spent her time polishing her armor and lacquering it to a shine. Ukitake's pricks though, left marks on it as she stared down into her cup. At least, she thought, he's being nice about. Most people would just come in with a sledgehammer and smash it. How ironic.

"-and there was that one time Shunsui--"

"Captain Ukitake"

"Yes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Why exactly, am I having tea with you when you know--," the words wouldn't come out, "When you know--," she tried again.

When you know I was using you to get away from that infernal Unohana Retsu. It was too hard. She had been practicing too long. He seemed to understand though, and most traces of jollity vanished from his features as he cradled a steaming cup of tea in his hands.

"Maybe I'm being nosy," he said, more to himself than her, "But I feel that it's my duty to get to know those who serve in Sereitei, especially a fellow Captain. But this Captain is quite peculiar. She skirts away from everyone else with no apparant reason, hides her reiatsu constantly, and gives smoldering glares equivalent to those of Nanao Ise" He stopped, "Please Cheru! Is it wrong that I would like to get to know you better? No one else has come close to stepping in your shadow. It is a privilege to be sitting with you, speaking to you"

A chink perhaps, she would have to see to that.

"In a way, you remind me of my subordinate Kuchiki Rukia. She was much like you when she first came to my Division..."

The tea was beginning to burn her. She set it down on the low table in front of her and folded her hands together.


	8. Sudden Recall

A/N: Thanks everyone! I'm glad to know you like it. As a note, if you like House MD, go get their theme song Teardrop by Massive Attack, it's awesome.

* * *

Cheru desperately wanted to recuperate. She had been across the whole of Sereitei almost three times, the priority of the messages being too high to send anyone else. Papers had piled onto her desk and she had just gone through the business of clearing them out with a kidou spell. She was as close as could be to being "fed up," she could only describe it as a feeling that told her she was wasting time that could otherwise be spent with her zanpaktou. In light of recent events, it was even more important to further her training. Arrancar and hollow reports were coming in faster than expected, and the wartime alert was becoming more and more heightened.

"Captain Tsuikyuu, I haven't been able to find the reports I just gave you," said a shinigami.

"They've been taken care of," she said, without looking back.

Since the Fifth Division was also in charge of Home Defense, Cheru had to see how fortifications and training sessions were going. She set out on a circuit along the south end of Sereitei's walls, she would be saving the north end for the next day. Things seemed to be in order, she hardly had to touch operations. She returned to the main plaza to oversee drills and watched as a seated officer called out numbers and the other shinigami executed a series of movements.

-+-

"So you see Ukitake, you're the only one fit for the job"

"It's flattering Unohana, but I must refuse"

She chuckled.

"I thought you might say that. But since the Commander-General appointed me with this task. At least assure me of whatever findings you have"

"That I plan on doing. But to ask me to report on her--"

"It was only a suggestion. I'm coming off as very hostile, aren't I? To you and Cheru both"

Ukitake blushed slightly, and laughed the comment off.

"Unohana, you have the ability to bring any man to his knees with just a word. It's a talent"

"So you say"

-+-

"ONE!" yelled the seated officer.

"Hyah!" shouted the spear-wielding shinigami, thrusting forward several times and kicking.

"May I?" Cheru asked a shinigami on the outer edge.

He blinked and nodded, handing over his weapon.

"Am I doing something wrong Captain Tsiukyuu?" he asked apprehensively.

"No, but you can do better. Watch. Carefully," she said, and jabbed the spear forward and rolled her body over the length of the weapon as she thrust again. She then kicked high into the air, and then kicked downward again, bringing the spear back into a ready stance.

The shinigami watched, entranced. His face turned to that of one fiercely concentrated as she looked back at him.

"Keeping yourself stationary for too long is...dangerous," she said, her eyes seemingly cast downward.

She was feeling quite in control again, and longed to spend a little more time even just showing off her polearm skills, but there wasn't time for fooling around. She returned the spear and after another brief check of the training square, headed off to her usual haunt.

It was becoming a thing of habit. In the beginning it was just a ruse to get away from another ruse set by Unohana Retsu, now the lines were becoming a little blurry. At times when Cheru was alone, her thoughts would drift from tea to Ukitake, and dwell there. It was uncommon for her to think of much else besides work, and working on being unnoticed. But as she pushed him aside, he would somehow creep back. Habits, especially bad ones, she decided, were hard to break.

Aside from that, there was just another abnormality. Ukitake was...well, he was very kind. But that too went into the pile of things she tried not to think about.

Truthfully, she was also lapsing back into her old self-- or at least a modification of her old self.

"So, how was your day?" Ukitake asked.

"Busy," she said simply, with a small curve sitting lightly on her lips.

"You look a little worn down," he confessed, and laughed hoarsely.

"I need some help around the office," she said, "The Fifth Division has the heaviest load, it can't be helped I suppose"

Ukitake sighed, a break from the usual joviality.

"There was a Lieutennant..."

He coughed again and covered his mouth to be polite. Cheru pretended not to notice.

"Was?" she asked delicately.

"She and Aizen--" Ukitake coughed again, harder this time, and raised his arm to stop the blood.

"I'm f-fine," he insisted as Cheru stood up to leave.

But he obviously wasn't fine as he hacked up more blood, staining his white captain's coat bright red. He collapsed onto the floor, rattling the tea table and cups. He writhed in pain as blood began pooling on the floor. Cheru stood motionless over the table.

She could hear every labored breath, every heave and choke, the plea for help that couldn't be said. She felt very cold all of a sudden and fell to her knees. Ukitake stared at her, still coughing. She shook her head, and grasped the mat on the floor, trying to block him out. They were back.

She was being held down, a hand grasped her neck and began squeezing. Someone else's foot was digging into her ribs. There was so much laughter. Cheru whimpered as someone began to grind her head into the dirt.

"Cheru!"

Ukitake yelled, spitting out gobs of blood. She looked at him, her eyes filled with terror.

Her head hurt so much, they were crushing her. She couldn't see anymore. She was suddenly pulled out of the vision as a fleck of blood hit her cheek. She stood up shakily, and leaned out the canvas door to call for help.

"Unohana!"


	9. Distressed A

A/N: I know. It's been forever. I've had a lot to do in the real world. I also know the previous chapter was a horrible horrible way to treat you guys, so this one is somewhat longer, and not really a cliffy. Since I'm still not done with work, updates won't be as fast, but I'll try to get something else out so that you people aren't complaining about length anymore. Hahaha

* * *

The rest of what happened was in a blur. Kiyone had been nearby and relayed Cheru's distress call to Unohana Retsu herself. Unohana, Isane, and Kiyone had come less than a heartbeat later and took full command of the situation. Cheru stood with her back to the wall, staring down at the scene before her. She refused to speak to anyone, and Isane cautiously reached out to touch her arm.

"Captain Tsuikyuu..."

Isane gasped as she felt her hand being twisted violently. She managed to extricate herself from the vice-grip before anything was broken. Cheru's hand was stationary in the air, shaking. She withdrew it, letting the folds of her coat conceal her limbs. In an instant, Cheru was gone, the tell-tale flap of white was the only memory that she had been there.

"Trauma," said Unohana softly.

Isane rubbed her hang gingerly, gritting her teeth together, and helped her Captain look after Ukitake.

Cheru retreated to her Division's Headquarters. Her lips were set in a straight thin line, her face was an unreadable as ever. As she passed by her subordinates in the office, they could have sworn they felt a cold breeze and shivered involuntarily.

She paced around her desk, trying to sort out her thoughts. She had been much too lax, her priorities had gotten jumbled up. She rested her hands on her zanpaktou, pushing it down just slightly. When had things become so complicated?

-+-

"Jyuu, you've gotten yourself sick again," said Shunsui in his usual jovial tone.

Ukitake took in a jagged breath and smiled weakly.

"Does it surprise you?"

Shunsui laughed.

"Anyway, I heard you had a ladyfriend over"

"And how does that--," he paused to cough and his friend helped him sit up, "how does that concern you?" he finished.

"Getting defensive? This is a new tactic," said Shunsui.

"I just don't want you scaring her away"

There was a familiar twinkle in Shunsui's eyes.

"Oh, so there _was_ someone there? Is she pretty? Clear blue eyes like the ocean? Pale creamy skin like the moon?"

Don't be silly Shunsui"

"One day Ukitake, you're going to have to learn the difference between silly and romantic"

Ukitake's laughter turned into another hacking series of coughs. Shunsui frowned just slightly and looked around to make sure healers were keeping a close watch on him.

"Maybe you'll tell me her name later," Shunsui said, getting ready to leave.

"There is nothing going on!" Ukitake protested in a whisper, "It was only tea"

"For you my friend, it's always just tea...and a date," said Shunsui softly and grinned, taking his leave.

Ukitake managed a small smile as his friend left the ward. He settled down farther into bed and closed his eyes, trying to take deep breaths.

Surely she had known of his illness. He was sick far too often to not be noticed and his subordinates made sure that he would always be watched out for wherever he went. Then again, this particular attack had been pretty bad. His chest and throat still burned and he absent-mindedly rubbed the spot where Mayuri and Unohana had taken a tissue sample. Mayuri had wanted to examine him since the consumption seemed to be progressing faster than expected. Ukitake hated the way the other Captain had stated his cause. He made it sound as if he was going to enjoy cutting into his chest. He probably had. No one really knew what went on in that mind of his. Everyone knew that Mayuri had only been promoted because of he had scared all his competitors into submission. Ukitake coughed again. Bad karma.

He had wondered for the first few minutes of delerium what Cheru was doing. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was her ashen face staring at him. Come to think of it, he had never seen her in such a state of shock before. It couldn't honestly have been just him...could it? A woman with such a barrier set up between her and the rest of the world felled so quickly? Ukitake pursed his lips, thinking. It was as so many shinigami were-- Rukia, Shinosen, Nami... for some reason or another, they could not adapt, and so they isolated themselves, always thinking they were alone. Ukitake had seen too many of those situations, too many gone horribly wrong. He had taken it upon himself to try and rectify the situation, and it had helped somewhat.

He coughed again, and a Fourth Division shinigami came over to him.

"Captain Ukitake, you look stressed. Please, you must rest," she said.

Ukitake nodded and smiled.

"Of course"

-+-

In the following weeks after Ukitake's episode, Sereitei had gone through a similar period of unrest. Reports of incomplete Arrancar and a startling number of Hollows had begun to appear with increasing frequency. Subsequently, home-defense was a top-priority and as one walked through the paths of Soul Society, they could see several battalions ready to respond to any call of action, watchtowers, and tense healers. The Captains had all heightened the alert level to their subordinates. Unohana, Mayuri, and Cheru Tsiukyuu were especially busy as they were respectively heads of healing, reconnaissance, and home-defense.

By this time, Cheru had noticed that Unohana quit trying to be so obvious about extending a hand towards her. She was much more concerned with Mayuri who had taken a shine to trying to unnerve her at every possible moment. But Cheru didn't find them as piercing as before. She looked at them emotionlessly, keeping her face still and empty. It surprised her just slightly, how efficient she had become at giving out orders-- something she never would have imagined doing.

"Captain Tsiukyuu, you have a message," said Nemu very quietly, pointing out the hell butterfly above her right shoulder.

Cheru looked at it for a moment, then let it convey the message to her.

_If you don't mind joining me today--_, she cut it off and signalled the butterfly with her eyes. It left.

"False alarm," she said to Nemu and Mayuri, who were looking at her curiously.

The rest of the day went by quickly, more orders, more butterflies, more Hollows, ultimately, more omens of things to come. Things were tense in Sereitei, and Cheru merely glanced at her nervous subordinates, -stop quivering-. The only thing she felt now was some fatigue. She had refused to acknowledge it for several weeks however. Just as she had locked her bad memories away, she had not gone to thinking about the notion of help. All that brought were confusing items, things she was sure she had gotten over, a longing-- She hadn't gone to see him after the incident, and the excuse was that she had too much to do, which wasn't too far from the truth. She had refused his calls to her, seeing them both as a frivolous waste of resources and almost as an insult. She had calmly found that her armor wasn't as badly scarred as she had thought.

She tried to call up the name without thinking of anything else. It was something juvenile sounding... Momo. Yes, that was it, Hinamori Momo.


	10. Distressed B

Paperwork was a mess. Cheru had eventually just assigned her desk to one of her subordinates and left her Division headquarters for that of the Fourth Division's. As she strode purposefully there, she saw Ukitake. Something made her step falter just a little, but she caught herself and continued on.

"Ah, Cheru! I was just on my way to see you"

He said it so casually, yet something in it made her flinch. She looked towards him, pausing.

"You look well," she said.

He noticed that she had changed. Maybe it was just better to let this pass.

"Perhaps another time," he said graciously, stepping out of her path.

She was taken aback, and though she would have gone straightaway, something else made her linger. She stood in her spot for a moment. She was hit by the sudden urge to just be in his presence. It was different, familiar again. All those things she had starved herself from these past few weeks--

"Cheru?" Ukitake tentatively asked, wondering why she was so still.

She didn't look at him.

"I must do something first," she finally said.

"First?" he was confused, "Before what?"

"Before tea," she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He blinked once before nodding and smiling.

"Of course. I shall be waiting"

Cheru's zanpaktou rattled in its sheath as she walked away. She clamped it down with her hand.

As she walked towards the Fourth Division, her zankpaktou became increasingly unruly. It came to the point of shaking right out of her hand, and she clenched it in her fist, unseathing it all of a sudden and cutting through a post. Her sword went still, and she yanked it out of the wood beam to resheath it.

Imouto acting up was not a good sign.

"Captain Tsuikyuu, how may I help you?" a healer asked as she stepped inside.

"I'm looking for Hinamori Momo," she said.

"Momo..." he said with a sigh, "Of course. Please understand, she may not want to see visitors"

Cheru merely looked at the shinigami who crumpled under her gaze. He coughed.

"In any case, this way please"

They walked for a while through the corridors of the Fourth Division headquarters until reaching a room with a set of large double doors. The shinigami opened them for her and as they stepped inside, Cheru could see that it resembled a typical sort of bedroom. She saw the girl inside, Hinamori, presumably, and the healer cleared his throat with an awkward sort of expression.

"Well, here she is"

Cheru noticed that she was dressed only in a white uniform, indicating she was still injured and off-duty. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her though.

"I want to reinstate her as my Vice-Captain," said Cheru.

"Excuse me?" he asked, startled by her request.

"Now," she said, threatening him with the lowness of her voice.

He looked at her desperately, trying to convey the impossibility of the order.

"I'm sorry but only the Commander-General has the authority to do such a thing"

Hinamori was becoming curious now, showing some interest in the situation as the healer tried to keep his voice down and cowered into Cheru's presence. She looked at the new Captain, not recognizing her at all, then returned to braiding her hair.

"Are you trying to...undermine me?" Cheru asked.

"Oh no Captain Tsuikyuu, it isn't that at all!" said the healer, raising his hands in protest, "It's just that her status isn't--"

Cheru had no more words for him. Her moment of brashness had passed, all she wanted to do now was get Hinamori out of this facility and continue with her day. She walked over to the girl and inclined her head just slightly.

"Hinamori Momo," she said.

"I don't recognize you. Did Aizen tell you to give me a message?" the younger girl asked, looking hopeful and completely oblivious.

"I am Captain Tsuikyuu of the Fifth Division. You are on-duty as of now"

Hinamori seemed to be in shock. She just looked at Cheru with wide eyes and couldn't speak. Cheru glanced over her shoulder at the healer who scurried away to get Hinamori's old uniform. He returned in a moment with a black bundle and badge in his arms. Cheru signalled for him to give it to the girl.

"Get dressed," she told her coldly and turned to leave.

The crest of the Fifth Division emblazoned on Cheru's back seemed to make it all click for Hinamori. She began to howl in the most inhuman way. Cheru left swiftly, not caring to hear anymore of the screaming and the cries for Aizen.

Cheru arrived at Ukitake's quarters, somewhat relieved, somewhat more on edge. It was from one disaster to another as she sat down, accepting the tea.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Busy"

The same response as before.

It wasn't entirely a screen though. She was honestly quite busy. She didn't see it as wrong though, that she didn't want to detail her episode just now with Hinamori.

"So it seems," he said, taking it in stride.

They sipped tea in silence for a while. Cheru was becoming accustomed again to the tranquility of these meetings. She just felt so much _better_ when they were together. It was strange, she could never describe it exactly, but in a funny way, she believed she liked it. Liked...him? She shoved the thought from her mind and set down her tea suddenly.

Ukitake looked at from under his eyebrows.

"Too hot?"

"No"

He looked down at his own tea for a moment.

"If you don't mind me asking...what happened the last time we met?"

She had gone over this scenario a thousand times by herself, and the only solution she found that would bother her least was to tell the story, cold, emotionless, like stone, and then she would never have to tell it again. She could return it to that dark place and not have to dig it back up. She imagined how others would react, laughing just a little, they would put their hands through their hair and say something about it being a foolish thing to talk about, how they didn't really care anymore, how embarrassing it was. She couldn't pull that kind of act off.

"It was a long time ago," she started, "When I was a child, I wasn't liked"

This was the most she had ever spoken...about it. Ukitake sat with rapt attention.

"People said I was bright, talkative, but I had never had friends. People disliked me, hated me, and one day, they came after me. Boys and girls my age took me to the ground and thrashed me..."

She felt as if she were describing someone else, someone far away from here she had never known, and she tried to make that feeling real. In her mind however, she was replaying the events, how they had all crowded around her and began to beat her down with their fists. One of them placed their foot on her head and began to push it into the ground, grinding her in. Her eyes blurred and black edges were beginning to come in. They had seemed so _happy_.

"...it reminded me of then," she finished, and lifted her tea to take a sip.

Ukitake wasn't sure how to react to this news. She seemed to distant to take pity, and pity was often an option he only took when there were none left. Everyone hated to be pitied. She seemed unfazed by it all. The way she drank her tea not even looking at him, greatly intrigued him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

If shrugging were a part of her repetoire, he was sure she would have inserted it here.

Cheru raised her hand to let a hell butterfly land. Ukitake leaned in a bit, interested as to what such an urgent message might be.

_This is Sasakibe Chojiro of the First Division, Captain Tsuikyuu, report immediatly to Division Headquarters_

Cheru frowned just slightly, but enough for Ukitake to notice. She let the butterfly go and got up. Ukitake followed suite.

"Business?" he asked.

"Yes..." she said, and found herself regretting that their time had come to a close so quickly, "Sorry," she added with an afterthought.


	11. Weakness

A/N: **cioro**: well you have your answer here! **hebi-san**: Did I thank you for reviewing? Lol. Here's the new chapter as promised...with many more to come. **Jenovajuice97**: My most loyal reviewer. Thank you so much for staying with it even through the period of radiosilence.

* * *

Cheru left quickly, heading towards her building. What could have caused her to be called away with such gravity? Was it that she had bypassed a level of power, or that Hinamori Momo was probably bringing down half of Sereitei with her yells? Upon entrance of her office, she was greeted by a small host of guests. Sasakibe stood with a hand firmly on Hinamori's shoulder. His pale-colored eyes glinted in the light as she stood before them. Commander-General Genryusai was beside him, leaning on his cane. Cheru noticed that behind them cowered the healer she had forced earlier.

Genryusai began the exchange by clearing his throat.

"Captain Tsuikyuu, you seem to be exercising your privileges as of late"

Cheru bowed her head slightly. What little she had learned about "office-politics" would have to be put to use now.

"I was unaware that it was not in my jurisdiction," she caught a glance of the healer's face blanching, "I'm very sorry if I've caused any trouble"

The Commander-General and his Vice-Captain scrutinized her.

"Hinamori Momo has not been in good condition since Aizen's...leaving. She is not to be reinstated to any form of duty until further notice," said Sasakibe.

Cheru noted his choice of wording and the way his hand tensed on Hinamori's shoulder. So there was something between Aizen and her. Hinamori looked at her with hateful eyes, and Cheru returned the gaze with some icy breeze of her own. She looked pathetic, still in that white outfit of hers. Cheru didn't want this girl for anything else than to do her duty as she was supposed to. Maybe it was that nagging sensation that had suddenly appeared. She had identified it as the desire to fix her, she had really been around Ukitake too long.

"If I may suggest something Commander-General?" she asked.

He made no motion to stop her and so she continued.

"I feel very strongly that the Fifth Division requires some more assistance. I understand Hinamori's sitation, but if I were to have her for a short period of time and then if the Commander-General were to evaluate this time spent..."

The subjunctive tense really was a wonderful one to use. Cheru let her voice trail off as she watched the Commander-General think over what she said. Sasakibe's eyes were still trained on her and she felt the vaguest sensation of pins and needles all over. She wondered if that was how she appeared to others.

"An interesting proposition," mused the Commander-General.

There was a beat of silence and anticipation.

"We shall see how it goes," he said, and Sasakibe released Hinamori from his hold.

"Thank you very much," said Cheru as the First Division Commander and Vice-Captain left the room.

All that was left now was her and Hinamori. The younger girl couldn't seem to believe what had just happened, and stood in the room stockstill. Cheru saw that her uniform was placed on her desk as the men had left and walked over to it, feeling the softness of the material. She handed the bundle to Hinamori who took it without a word and left.

Cheru watched her leave, then checked the messages on her desk. A red stamp on one of them indicated that it was sent by a Captain and thus, high-priority. She opened it carefully and her brow creased. So Hitsugaya Toshiro wanted to talk as well. She considered briefly, just ignoring the message and going off to a secluded place to train. Imouto and her both needed a bit more discipline as of late. But the brightness of the red stamp glared at her. To the Tenth Division it was.

Captain Toshiro was waiting for her. She found a stark contrast between him and Hinamori. While she had left a scared and scarred person behind, here was a young but stern face staring back at her.

"Captain Tsuikyuu," he said as a greeting.

"Captain Toshiro"

"Let's take a walk"

Hitsugaya led her away from the Division headquarters and along the winding ways of Sereitei. It was silent for a while before Hitsugaya opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm not going to hide anything. I care deeply for Hinamori. So when I heard of what you did, I couldn't believe it. What made you think you had the authority to pull her back out like that? Do you have any idea of what she's been through?"

He was angry, and barely keeping himself in check. So the young progidy of the Gotei 13 had a temper as well. His reasons, though stated, still seemed like a mystery to Cheru. The obvious concern he had for Hinamori was a foreign concept to her, one who had never been cared for at all. In this case, she couldn't think of anything to say, for any purpose. It was a humbling experience.

"Hinamori may never be well again. So why are you trying to interfere? Let her be in peace! She doesn't need to know that you've taken Aizen's place!"

The clarity of his voice was astounding. He was on a level Cheru would never be able to reach, with any amount of training. His mind, his body, his zanpaktou, were all focused on what he was saying and feeling: Don't touch Hinamori. Cheru felt fragmented into tiny pieces, each having a neglible amount of power, while this mere child was a fully formed crystal. She had come to quietly confront him, and see him bubble over. The problem, she was convinced, would resolve itself in a matter of minutes. But she was wrong. Hitsugaya Toshiro was so much more...that she was. If ever there was a living example of what she was aspiring to, she realized it was him. Training all those years, physically and mentally, were to prepare herself to become consolidated and focused. She wanted everything to be so compact that nothing could squeeze through and threaten to destroy the defenses she had so carefully set up. Yet here was the signs of her downfall as she knew it. Ukitake. Hinamori. And now Hitsugaya. She was a mere nothing. He was a true shinigami, a true Captain.

"Well, are you going to say anything?" he snapped, fed up with the silence and the lone echo of his voice.

Weakness was not to be tolerated.

Cheru closed her eyes.

_"You haven't come far at all Ane"_

_"But you won't understand. Not yet anyhow. It's not my place to tell you."_

"Answer me!" Histugaya shouted at her, his clear blue eyes blazing.

Even the phoenix rises from its ashes.

_"You won't attain anything higher than this Bankai_"

She had stared straight at Imouto and said something she regretted now.

_"I don't care_"

Cheru opened her eyes, and left.

Hitsugaya Toshiro remained rooted to his spot in shock. His eye twitched as it caught sight of Cheru Tsuikyuu's ponytail whipping about in the breeze. _How dare she._ He wanted to call out Hyourinmaru at this very instant and smite her. Regretfully however, he brought his anger down to a managable level. No doubt the Commander-General already knew of Cheru's actions, and if she were acting in this arrogant manner, it could only mean she had somehow gained permission to do whatever it was she had in mind. This meant that he had no power over this matter anymore. His eyes narrowed. So be it.

Cheru returned to her private quarters, not wanting to see anyone else. She watched the sun set over the walls of Sereitei and held her zanpaktou close to her, at the same time wanting to cast it away. What a waste it had all been.

* * *

Imouto: You've seen me use this a few times. It's Japanese for "little sister," obviously the name of her zanpaktou.

Ane: "Big sister"


	12. Iced

A/N: Wow, never expected another batch of reviews to come in. But I am very happy. Reviews really are like food. Now warning, this chapter may seem a bit short with all the dialogue, but when I wrote over the Ch. 13, I realized I needed to break it a little earlier. Have fun!  
**Cioro**: you are a truly scary beast. If only Cheru had some of your blood, she might have broken a nose here or there! Never fear, people do change. **Jenovajuice**: glad you like it. **Gryphondown**: It makes me generally happy that you are generally happy, truly. I hope you enjoy the rest of it. **TeZukAb0ch0u**: Complication's gooood.

* * *

"Hey Ukitake!"

Shunsui waved to his old friend as he came up the walkway. Ukitake smiled and waved back.

"Captain, I must insist that you return to your desk. There are twenty reports you must fill out, now!" said Ise Nanao, chasing after her Captain.

"Never a break eh?" asked Shunsui, winking at Ukitake.

"Please Captain Ukitake, explain to Captain Kyouraku that he must submit the Division reports by midnight tonight--"

The two Captains looked at Nanao, waiting for the hook.

"Yes?" Ukitake asked.

"I-I'll be forced to hurt him most grievously!" she spluttered.

Shunsui's eyebrows bounced at that remark and he stuck his face very close to his Vice-Captain's.

"How does my Nanao-chan see through my every move?" he asked her in the most sappily sweet voice he could muster.

"I am not your Nanao-chan," she said stiffly, resisting the urge to thwack him within the esteemed presence of Captain Ukitake.

"Look Ukitake, she can't resist my charms!"

"Shunsui..." said Ukitake, amused.

"Captain Ukitake," said Nanao, pleading almost as her Captain's lips inched closer to her cheek.

He looked upon her kindly.

"I'll return him to you very soon, sober," he promised and straightened his friend up.

"Thank you," said Nanao, fixing her glasses.

The two walked in the other direction as Nanao left. Shunsui was holding on his own now, and pouted slightly at the memory of being returned "sober".

"That's not at all what I had in mind," he said to Ukitake.

"Oh I know," said Ukitake reassuringly.

"We're walking," said Shunsui a moment later, sounding completely confused.

"I was serious about the sober part"

There was a silent _dammit_ in the air.

"Well?" asked Shunsui.

"What?"

"You obviously want to talk about something important if you're that adamant about me not getting drunk"

Ukitake chuckled, was he always that easy to read?

"It's your hot date, right?" asked Shunsui, "Aww, Jyuu's finally got himself a woman!"

"It's really not that. In any case, I seriously think she's not in the condition for romantic endeavors"

"Who is she, exactly?"

"Cheru Tsuikyuu"

"She _is_ beautiful," said Shunsui agreeing, "But it's more a cold kind of beauty, kind of like Byakuya eh? Cold enough to freeze someone with a single look"

"It's a problem," said Ukitake simply, heaving a small sigh.

Problems came in various packages, as Ukitake found. Cheru had been her own isolated problem that he had offered to help. He felt they were making progress, and suddenly he caught himself one afternoon saying "_they_". How exactly was he moving along with her? He had seen her as damaged, been proved right, there was nothing else to pursue. Soon, as with all people, she would be on her way to healing. So why did he keep imagining himself involved in the process? He knew at that point that he had a problem, a large one. He was pitying, all-out, and if this were to lead to some flawed sort of relationship, he would never be able to forgive himself.

"You like her," said Shunsui.

"I don't know," said Ukitake.

"That's okay"

If he were to hurt her all over again for his selfish desires... But Captain Ukitake was never selfish, he was the golden boy of the Gotei 13. And Cheru would be alone again. This time, there would be no second chances.

"No, it's not"

"Ukitake, look at me," said Shunsui forcefully.

Ukitake averted his eyes to look at his old friend. He was so much more serious that he thought it possible. Did he really look that pensive, that worried to him to show such outward concern?

"You are the most honorable man I know. I also know, that if you find that you don't actually like her, you won't lead her on. But if you do, suddenly you'll see all sorts of things in her you've never seen before. Love is a funny thing, you know"

"Thank you, Shunsui," said Ukitake, though not feeling calmed in the least.

Shunsui patted him on the back.

"Now you wish we were drunk, right?"

-+-

Ukitake had sent Shunsui back to work a few hours later, unable to cope with the continued pleas for sake. He would have opened several jugs and started downing them all with his friend had he not made the promise to Nanao. He was sorely regretting it now.

Coughing, he closed the screen door of his quarters and sat down to meditate.

Yet despite his most pointed efforts, he could not settle down and breathe deeply. All that kept cropping up in his mind was Cheru. Ever since he had arranged their meeting together, he began to feel more and more restless. He hardly ever felt at peace anymore when he thought of her. She was the reason he became more introverted as days passed as he tried to puzzle out this new mystery. And underneath it all, he knew what this was a precursor to, but was so deeply worried that he could not bring himself to acknowledge it.

_Still waters_, he preached to himself, trying to calm down.

He coughed again, harder this time. He ignored it, concentrating harder on pushing all irrelevant items from his mind. A few second later, he coughed again. He opened his eyes because he felt something trickling from his nose. His hand showed it was blood, and he looked up to see red sprayed across the mat.

_Blood_, he thought numbly.

Ukitake sent for Kiyone.

-+-

The invitations for tea had stopped, so she took to inviting herself over. It was justified as a measure to keep herself pulled together. Both of them spoke sparingly even though they each had an abundance of things to say. Cheru, Hinamori. Ukitake, himself. Tea and things unspoken were the only things keeping them in these meetings. Even Cheru felt the anxiety in the atmosphere, a desperate attempt on both their parts to seem composed. She mused. So falseness had penetrated even here.

"Anything?" she asked, trying to break the ice.

He looked up, surprised, pleasantly, as always.

"Just a dip in health. Nothing serious though. Unohana cleared me quite quickly"

He smiled at her.

She didn't say anything.

"And Hinamori?" he asked, trying to return the favor.

"Managed," said Cheru.

"Ah"

"More tea?" he asked, offering.

Their meeting ended without much else, and Cheru returned to her Division headquarters feeling a little more together than she had before.

"Hinamori Momo?" said Cheru, once in her office.

She was standing at the window, and turned to face Cheru.

"Aizen's usually much neater than this, you know," she said.

"Did you fill out the forms on my desk?" asked Cheru.

Hinamori's face darkened.

"Aizen's handwriting's very neat too. He used to curve his letters--"

"They're due in an hour"

Cheru sat at her desk and rearranged some of the papers, noticing that nothing had been moved around. So she had been standing at the window the entire time... Cheru signed a couple forms and placed them in the out-box, and looked at Hinamori. The girl just stood there, looking at her. It was infuriating really.

"Aizen-," she started again.

"Aizen's not here," said Cheru quickly and quietly, cutting her off.

Hinamori stared for a moment, then started to make small crying noises.

"Do your job," said Cheru, averting her gaze.

The following days with Hinamori reinstated went on in a similar manner. Cheru didn't like dealing with her, nonetheless, more work got done. Of course it took sessions of her verbally whipping the "Aizen" out of the girl, more crying, and a sullen face at the desk. It was a depressing process, and Cheru took as much time away from the office as she could. She found herself staying more and more often in Ukitake's presence. It was soothing.


	13. Cycles and Stories

A/N: Okay, so I was going crazy an hour before I wrote this since I couldn't find the hardcopy of the chapter. What this basically translates to is that this chapter above all others, is eligible for a minor rewrite after I find that damn sheet.  
Yeah, fast updates indeed. But they'll probably slow down after today since I've got to go back to school. Sucks to be a student. Oh yeah, and take this chapter slow! Don't gobble it up like you've probably had with the others. grin **Kawazoe Kazuma**: Ditto what I just said about my updates, lol. Thanks for the props, and for your promised continued support. Ukitake knows I need that. wink. **cioro**: hinamori's like everyone's evil little sister combined into one being with a sword--yeah, annoying.

* * *

Tea became a solemn ceremony for them. Each day they would sit together and Ukitake would offer to pour in his most polite voice. She would accept likewise and they would spend hours in silence. When they parted there were no words, and it would start again the next day.

Things, as Cheru saw them, went in cycles. Hinamori would never break out of this "Aizen-phase," whatever it truly was. They were too similar in pain that she didn't want to find out any more. Tea, went in cycles. Each mid-morning afternoon she would drop by and the silent procession would start. She herself was in a cycle. So maybe, all of this confusion was to pass soon. That was something to look forward to.

Ukitake didn't know where things were going. Thousands of years had passed, and he had gone through them like a boat, stationary, traveling at times, but always ahead of the wave. It was only now he felt that he was faltering, that his compass was broken. When had his clear head become so fogged? The answer was there, Shunsui was right. But he was mortally afraid of what it might entail. So he did not look up and feigned pleasantry.

Days passed.

1.  
_They say that on clear nights, the maidens of the moon come down to bathe and make merry. They are the most beautiful creatures in the world, and are clothed in nothing but a transparent scarf. They eat the plums of eternal life and laugh as they splash water on one another. But if a mortal were ever to come across one, he could count on never seeing the light of day again. _  
Ukitake wondered, as he sat across from Cheru, if he were such a mortal.

2.  
_There was once a warrior who wandered in the mountains, looking to be the best swordsman in the land. He came across an aged man and asked him, "Do you know where the book to the ultimate technique is?" The old man smiled mysteriously and asked if he was sure, "Yes," the warrior replied, and was directed to a bamboo forest. "In there," said the old man, "You will find what you came for". So the warrior entered the forest, and was never seen since. _  
Cheru found herself hoping that it was not her. She knew now there was something else to work towards. And it was not perfection.

3.  
_Three urns were placed before a man. He is known throughout the land as a most rational being. Given the choice to choose an urn, he has no trouble in picking one. But upon hearing that one has a poisonous snake, the two others jewels beyond all measure, he consults his cautious side and finds that he cannot bring himself to choose at all. In the end, it is revealed that all the urns held treasures, and they promptly disappear in a puff of smoke. _  
Ukitake did not know if he was one to give life up to chance. Surely rational was the true path.

4.  
_A gypsy once came to a dusty town in the middle of nowhere and claimed to sell happiness. The entire village went to her to see if what she was telling was true and underwent her treatment. However, they came out feeling terrible and moaned during the night as they were plagued with all their worst fears. The only person who had not gone with her friends was so frightened by these sounds she swore she would never go to the gypsy, happiness was a lie. Yet when daylight came, the people of the town awoke feeling refreshed and light. They laughed and played and did not ever remember the terrible night they had before. The gypsy, seeing that there was nothing else to be done, left. _  
Cheru had never been able to face her fears. She wondered if she could do it now. Face it and overcome it? An impossibility.

5.  
_A young boy was sent on a quest to save his village. He set alone, but gained companions on his voyage, and when it came time for the final showdown, he assured them, "You can trust me". Upon facing the demon, each of his friends perished, and soon he was left alone again. Looking from the disappearing bodies to the demon again, he found a mirror instead, and exited the lair, defeated._   
He was strong enough for everyone but himself. Since when had things gotten this way?

6.  
_Two larks had hatched from their eggs on a bright morning. Hardly able to open their eyes, the only thing on their minds was the inexorable urge to get away. For days they waited patiently, eating and growing. But when time finally came, they leapt out of their nests and flew. All they remembered for the rest of their lives was that moment. _  
Cheru did not believe in leaps of faith. She had no faith to start with. But was this longing a call from somewhere below?

7. The grain of the wood was very smooth. Cheru had been staring at the table for over an hour now. The warmth of the tea had ebbed and she set down her cup ever so quietly.

"More tea?" Ukitake asked, placing his hand on the kettle.

Cheru raised her eyes slightly to look at Ukitake.

Ukitake wasn't using his eyes as much as he was using his sense of smell. The scent of plum blossoms was overpowering, and as he neared Cheru to pour the tea, he could smell it strongest from her. His hand faltered and he was gripped with the sudden fear that he would become sick. But all he could feel was soft lips, and all he could sense were the plum blossoms.

The table was moved to the side and the two moved closer together, each tentatively raising their hands against the other's body. Ukitake reached up to take the pin holding her hair and the scent exploded throughout the room as waves of black cascaded down over his hand. She pressed her hands into his chest, feeling his heart through the layers of his uniform. The beat reverberated through the bones of her fingers. He held the back of her head as his other hand went to her chest, slowly undoing the ties there.

Cheru felt a heat spread from her lips to the rest of her body, warming even her fingertips with the most pleasant feeling. She pushed aside the folds of his clothing, revealing a shoulder, and leaned into him.

And suddenly it was over. A clack outside made Cheru break apart and flee the room like a frightened rabbit. Ukitake sat sprawled on the floor, stunned. He got up slowly to see Shunsui sauntering along the walkway outside and quickly straightened himself out. He was still holding her hairpin however, and as Shunsui invited himself in, Ukitake clipped it to the inside of his sleeve.

"Hey old boy," said Shunsui.

Ukitake felt like a huge red stamp was on his face, denoting that he had just had a clandestine encounter with a woman.

"How are you?" he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Had company?" asked Shunsui, nodding to the tea table.

"Um, yes. Not anymore though," said Ukitake awkwardly.

It was a moment before Shunsui began to laugh, very loudly.

Cheru walked quickly to her quarters, re-tying the strings to her uniform and trying to dispel the heady feeling she had. Her hair would have to do for now, her hairpin was nowhere to be found.

Upon reaching her room, she slid the door shut and sat down on the mat. The feeling of intoxication was gone now, replaced by a startling clarity of vision. She began to cough, which turned into a very quiet, raspy sort of laughing.


	14. Meetings

A/N: Not such a hot chapter, but to preserve the average word count between chapters, I broke it in half. (Next half is ch. 14) Kind of weird to have this monster in the middle of "normal-sized" chapters. Which is why I'm putting them up together!!  
**xxmimidots**: Action! Yeah! I tried to not overdo it, she's not the most feral thing out there anyways. And thanks a lot about the storybits, yessss...that was an experiment, I'm glad it worked out well.  
**nostalgic-maiden**: Working, ma'am!  
**cioro**: Locked in a room? Sounds like my fantasy, hhaha.  
**GryphonDown**: Shunsui's ridiculous, but we all know he means well.  
**JenovaJuice97**: Lol. Shunsui's geting hated on.  
**Kawazoe Kazuma**: Nanao's probably busy trying to clean up after some mess in a bar he visited beforehand. Rofl.  
**Epona Dragonheart**: Thank you!!

* * *

In the following days, Ukitake and Cheru met sparingly. Chaste touches in the exchange of papers, and chance encounters were the only hints to any sort of relation between them. But it was...a work in progress, and both found the time to themselves useful. Shunsui of course had given Ukitake no rest from his constant barrage of jokes. He had taken to even giving him signals with his eyebrows and devising an elaborate code-system with the use of his hat during meetings. Ukitake found it both endearing and incredibly irritating.

Cheru continued with work. She couldn't bring herself to look for him.

Hitsugaya's foul mood had been noticed by his Vice-Captain Matsumoto Rangiku, who had teased the situation from him and was similarly unhappy with Cheru.

"Captain and Vice-Captain's meeting this afternoon," said Matsumoto, reminding both herself and her captain.

"Mm," said Hitsugaya, concentrating on something else.

Matsumoto pursed her lips, then resumed examining her nails. Her captain stressing out this much was worrying her. She didn't know the new captain very well and with the current state of affairs, hadn't had the chance to get to know her. Histugaya had given his congratulations to her during the Coat Ceremony, but he obviously wasn't feeling the same about her as before. It was no suprise, especially now since Hinamori was involved.

Matsumoto frowned as she caught a speck of white on one of her nails. How troublesome. It really made her look malnourished or something. She rubbed it to make sure it wasn't some sort of stain.

"Matsumoto, weren't you supposed to take care of these reports yesterday?" asked Hitsugaya.

Her nail was becoming shinier.

"Matsumoto?"

She frowned even more.

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya yelled, getting up halfway out of his chair.

So the white thing was there to stay. She turned around.

"Yes, Captain?"

He just looked at her for a moment, his blue-green eyes blazing. She blinked.

"Oh Captain, you're much too uptight these days. I've heard that letting your subordinates off lessens it!" she ran over to him and offered to hug him tightly.

He glared at her.

She put a finger on her chin, thinking.

"Or was it 'letting your subordinates off _indefinitely_'? Hmm," she said to herself.

Hitsugaya continued to give her the death glare and pushed a stack of papers in her direction.

Matsumoto pouted.

A couple hours later, all of the Captains were gathered at the First Division headquarters, while their Vice-Captains were re-routed to a nearby building for a meeting led by Sasakibe Chojiro. Matsumoto lingered behind, looking for Cheru. She caught the sight of her, seeing that only Ukitake bothered to walk anywhere close to her. Her Captain stayed well behind.

Upon entering the meeting room, everyone arranged themselves and the Commander-General began the meeting. Cheru stood next to Sixth Division Captain Kuchiki Byakuya. He blinked very slowly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't bother to give any sign that he was noticed.

"Captain Tsuikyuu," said the Commander-General.

"Training is well-supervised," said Cheru, "A double set of sentries have been posted along the walls with reinforced units at each of the Gates"

"Captain Kurotsuchi"

"There has been an increasingly incidence of Hollows in the immediate area of Sereitei, which indicates that Aizen will be planning on sending in Arrancar soon"

"And has your research in the living world yielded any helpful results?" asked the Commander-General.

"It's been confirmed that their reiatsu is much higher than any of the strongest Hollows, including the Menos. The incomplete Arrancar so far have displayed zanpaktou and a released form of their soul slayers. The data from the battle Kurosaki Ichigo had with one of them is still being processed"

"Mm," said the Commander General thinking, "When you have finished your research, contact Captain Tsuikyuu to modify training and defense as you see fit. Captain Ukitake"

"The higher incidence of Hollows has been confirmed by my Division. Morale has suffered somewhat however, because of the continued heightened alert and the frequent Hollow attacks"

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"I propose a routine Hollow-hunting patrols in the immediate area around the Gates"

"Permission granted, Captain Ukitake"

"Thank you Commander-General"

The meeting continued with updates from the other captains, and the Commander-General approved whatever measures that were suggested. By the time it had ended, Cheru had been assigned to meet with Unohana to give her a sketch of how she had positioned her Division so that in case of medical emergencies the Fourth could arrive as quickly as possible. Cheru case a glance at Ukitake, wondering, and saw him speaking animatedly with Unohana.

"It's been good," said Ukitake, smiling.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Unohana, she seemed to be waiting for more.

"You needn't worry about Cheru Tsuikyuu," he added.

"I'll relay that to the Commander-General then"

"Hitsugaya!"

Heads turned as Hinamori ran up to meet Hitsugaya, and those not involved returned to whatever they were doing. Cheru caught a hard look from Hitsugaya, while Hinamori ignored her presence completely.

"Hinamori, what are you doing here? Don't you have work?" asked Hitsugaya.

"I'm so happy to see you!" said Hinamori, throwing her arms over him and evading the question.

"Hinamori..." he said, looking around at the other Captains.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said apologetically, removing herself, "But I haven't seen you in so long"

"Have you been well?" he asked, allowing himself to soften up a bit.

Hinamori shrugged.

"You shouldn't be looking for trouble," said Hitsugaya softly, "Just do as she says"

Her face darkened.

"But she's not Aizen! And I know that he's really good on the inside. He'll come back, just like I said," she said, looking hopeful.

He sighed.

"It's important to realize that...times change Hinamori," he said, trying to break it to her as gently as possible.

Cheru wasn't waiting anymore. It was becoming awkward. She left, breezing past Hinamori and Hitsugaya.

"So...you're on their side too," said Hinamori quietly.

"That's not it-," he began.

"No, you don't understand, do you?" her brow began to crease.

He gripped her shoulders.

"Hinamori, look at me," he said, "You need to get over this, Aizen isn't coming back!"

"No!" she screamed, breaking away from his grasp. "Aizen's not bad! He'll come back and apologize, and it'll all be okay again!"

She glared at him with tear-filled eyes and ran off. Hitsugaya made a move to follow her, then stopped himself. She didn't even know where she was running. He didn't want to corner her, not again.


	15. Change

Cheru took a detour on the way back to her Division headquarters, wandering the court gardens for a while before giving up and heading back the straight way. She was becoming totally irrational. Nemu caught her on the way there, delivering a message. By the time she arrived in her office, the sun was starting to lower.

Hinamori was standing by the window.

She hadn't progressed at all. The conversation with Hitsugaya had made her worse. Her face looked drained of any blood and her eyes had dulled, losing their familiar shine. She was looking sullenly at the desk in front of her. Cheru wasn't sure what to do. She had never been sure, but now it had gone beyond a point of understanding. Cycles indeed... In a short time, the Commander General would no doubt ask about Hinamori, then she would lose her. While one side of Cheru dictated that it was survival and that Hinamori was useless in this state, the other offered something different. Hinamori could be saved. Her duty should be done, by her, not just by another replacement. Her behavior was inacceptable. But in all honestly, Cheru did not understand how she could achieve this.

She walked over to her desk. Reiatsu flared. She quickly turned her head.

Hinamori had walked up to her, her fists clenched and trembling. The sudden life that had come into her startled Cheru just a bit and she took a small step backwards, her hand rested lightly on her zanpaktou.

"You," Hinamori began, her voice filled with anger, "Are not my Captain. You will never _be_ my Captain!"

Cheru watched her carefully as Hinamori grasped the hilt of her zanpaktou, her knuckles were white with tension. Would it come to a fight? Surely not... The flare of the girl's reiatsu though, was truly amazing.

"Captain Aizen is the rightful leader here, and you can never be anywhere close to him! I just-," Hinamori struggled to speak, "I just want you to go away!"

There was a harsh clang and grating noise as Hinamori suddenly unsheathed her zanpaktou and attempted to strike Cheru with it. Cheru blocked it backhandedly and pushed back with the blade sharply. Hinamori fell to the group in a heap, then realizing the gravity of her actions, got up and fled.

Cheru sheathed her sword and her brow crinkled just slightly. Would Hinamori return? It seemed unlikely and she couldn't have an errant shinigami running through Sereitei in tears. If Hinamori went through the gates, she would be attacked. Traces of her reiatsu still remained even in the room.

Cheru left the room quickly.

She was easy to track. Hinamori was letting off reiatsu like a beacon, and Cheru followed the trail, finding that it led straight to the North Gate...and beyond. The gatekeeper was arduously slow in re-opening the gate, grumbling about what the rush was about. She had actually become somewhat angry, snapping at him to just do it and shut up. He remained quiet as he finished the process and Cheru ran through it, switching to flash-step.

Practice had allowed Cheru to mask her reiatsu completely, she wouldn't be attracting Hollows. But Hinamori was another case. She would be attacked by hundreds if she didn't reach her soon. And by the time she would realize that she would need to fight, she'd probably be out of energy, having expelled it on her flight here. A true act of irrationality and idiocy.

She entered the Northern Forest, feeling nostalgia underneath the sharp edge that danger had given the situation. Life was very strange. Keeping an eye out for Hinamori, she sped through the forest, going deeper and deeper inside. Why was she wasting her time?

Was it a waste?

There was no time to be thinking about anything else. She could see Hinamori now. The girl was using flash-step as well, but flagging now, no doubt due to the adrenaline leaving her body.

Hinamori dropped out of flash-step, running, then stumbling to the ground. Cheru stopped as well, slowing to a walk.

"Just, leave me alone!" Hinamori wailed, pummeling the ground with her fists.

Cheru took a quick look around.

"It's dangerous, let's go," she said.

"I said go away!"

There was a glint of white in the background. Cheru took a step forward. Hinamori yelled angrily and pushed herself further away from her.

"Hinamori!" Cheru barked, the same way she had with the gatekeeper.

She only glared at her pitifully. The thing was a mask. It came out of the shadows, right behind Hinamori. There was no time. Cheru swept forward, thrusting Hinamori out of the way.

Amidst the yell of discontent, and then a scream, Cheru could only feel a sharp and sudden pain. Somewhere in the middle of that, she thought she had heard a crack. She opened her eyes blearily to see the dirt. She had been swatted down, hard. Blood ran into her eye. Her face burned terribly, she couldn't feel anything else. But as instinct took over, she only heard herself grimace as she unsheathed her zanpaktou, cutting through the Hollow with a ruthless slash.

Her back was on the ground now, and she coughed as she turned over. Her nose started to gush blood, and she propped herself up with her arms, slowly getting up. The shock of the impact was still with her. She swayed just slightly before casting a look to Hinamori, then took off back towards Sereitei.

Cheru couldn't breathe. She unmasked some of her reiatsu so that the bleeding would at least stop. Nevertheless, she had to open her mouth slightly to get air. She felt Hinamori following her.

Cheru stopped at the Fourth Division headquarters, looking for a healer.

It didn't surprise her that the first person she came across was Unohana Retsu.

"Is anyone else hurt?" Unohana asked as she saw Cheru, a note of urgency creeping into her voice.

"No," said Cheru immediatly.

Hinamori was silent. Unohana's face relaxed. She handed Cheru a damp towel and the other captain wiped the blood off her face.

"Sit down please. It looks broken," said Unohana, examining Cheru's face.

"Feels that way," said Cheru, frowning a little.

The pain was beginning to filter back, fighting the adrenaline that was slowly leaving Cheru's system. She flinched as Unohana spread her hands over her face, beginning to heal her. She could see Hinamori standing a distance away. She was shaken, but didn't look as angry anymore. Why did she wait for her? Cheru squinted slightly as she felt the cartilage in her nose reform itself into the proper shape.

"What happened?" asked Unohana.

There was an uncomfortable silence as neither person involved answered. Cheru looked at Hinamori.

"Accident," she said.

"I see," said Unohana.

She obviously knew better, but acted indifferently. A moment later, she lowered her hands.

Cheru took a deep breathe and exhaled.

"Thank you"

"It's not a problem," said Unohana pleasantly.

Cheru got up to leave and Hinamori followed her like a shadow.

Shinigami stared as they passed, seeing the dark stains of blood all over Cheru's coat. One of them had the courage to ask if she needed any assistance. Cheru had politely declined and went on ahead to her quarters. She didn't want to deal with anything else, her face was still smarting. Besides, night was falling fast, and she would have been off-duty anyway. She reached her room and entered. Hinamori stood outside the door.

"Do you think, maybe...can I stay here?" she asked.

A month ago she would have slid the door closed and gone to sleep. Something had changed since then. Perhaps, it was the glimmer of hope that had developed recently. Hope that things did change, for the better. She looked at Hinamori and turned to take off her coat and drape it over a chair. She would have to take care of it in the morning.

Hinamori let herself in carefully, sliding the door shut behind her. She sat in a corner of the room and watched as Cheru got ready to go to bed, taking off the outer black garments and donning a dark green robe over it.

Hinamori Momo was feeling a whirlwind of emotions. She loved Aizen. It wasn't the kind of love between grown men and women. For her, it was something more platonic. She admired his kindness and his strength, the way he would guide her through hard times, and just everything he did, he did with her in mind, because she was his Vice-Captain. She couldn't see anyone more perfect than Aizen. Then there was that confusing moment where she ended up injured. She was sure, after processing everything, that it had all been a mistake. Aizen hadn't meant to hurt her at all. What had he said? He thanked her, didn't he? And she kept that to heart. Afterwards, it had only gotten worse and even more confusing. Other people began to accuse him of doing terrible things, betraying Sereitei, murdering Central 46, escaping into Hueco Mundo. Part of her just didn't understand, so she relied the strongest image of Aizen she had. And that Aizen would most definitely come back to her.

This new Captain though, had been a bombshell. Hinamori couldn't fully describe how she felt after seeing that _she_ was wearing the Captain's coat. Angry. Sad. Puzzled. Furious. Confused. She was nothing like Aizen in the least. She didn't say hi to her every morning, give her little treats, tousel her hair and make her feel at home. Instead she was cold, hardly looking at her and only mentioning work to be done. She had hated Cheru Tsuikyuu, and at their confrontation, wanted to kill her or simply mar her passive face. But when she drew her blade, she remembered who she was and what position she held. This was not becoming of a Vice-Captain, attack on a senior office was unforgivable. Her resolve and anger had collapsed, and she ran to escape the horrible sinking feeling.

Then at the moment she felt worst, the most helpless and small, Cheru Tsuikyuu had saved her. The sight of the older woman being struck down so easily sent a chill through her heart, but cursed weakness didn't allow her to get up and fight as she should have. She was a coward and nothing more. She had thought about it, following faithfully as she should have, on the way back to Sereitei. Events were becoming much clearer in her head. By the time they had reached Unohana, she knew that Aizen had indeed betrayed Sereitei. And now she was dealing with the concept of the new Captain. Hinamori was grateful, exceedingly so, but Cheru Tsuikyuu obviously wasn't the type of person to accept frivolous sentiments.

So she sat there, punishing herself and being grateful.


	16. A Heart to Heart

A/N: It's been a while, and that's all been due to a combination of circumstances. One of actual real-life paperwork (finaid sucks), school stuff, and just some general frustration that while this story is being appreciated, it's really not polite to keep demanding chapters. Mind you, it may have just been a shorter way of saying "please update more when you have the time for it," but really, my update schedule is up to me. This isn't meant to offend, but just as a notice that I do have a life outside of fanfic and that I need to devote more time to the former. I do appreciate the attention the story is getting, but just please be aware of this.

Now, this chapter is short considering the hiatus, but it's time to deal.

* * *

When Cheru woke the next morning, she was glad that her face felt like normal again. She glanced at a mirror, seeing that there was no lasting harm done. She noticed that Hinamori was gone, vanished like smoke. She had left no trace of ever being there. The spot where she had sat seemed almost too tidy.

There was a knock.

"Yes?" said Cheru.

The door slid open and Hinamori stepped through tentatively. She held a bundle in her arms, and she held it out to Cheru. It was her coat. Cheru took it wordlessly.

Hinamori watched. She seemed to be waiting for something, but Cheru gave no words or gestures. She merely put on her coat. The younger shinigami shifted her weight from either foot, pulled a weak smile, then went away. There was an air of disappointment about her.

What was Cheru supposed to say? She left for her office.

As she walked, she found herself hoping to see Ukitake along the way as she had so often done just when she had least wanted to. But it wasn't so this time. She saw only low-ranking shinigami run past her relaying messages.

What a futile attempt at trying to "fix" everything. She gave a soft snort. As if anything needed fixing.

But wasn't it only polite to say something after such a moment like that? She shook her head. Really, she was getting carried away with the most trivial matters. She sat in her office to begin looking over the messages she had recieved.

In the usual corner of the room, Hinamori stood fiddling with the front of her uniform. She had become more quiet since the incident and hadn't said much to Cheru aside from asking if she needed anything. Hinamori had become less than a shadow. The only sign that she was there was the absence of the pile of papers that had been at Cheru's desk before, and of course.

Cheru signed several reports and placed them in the outbox. She found that her mind was constantly assailed by inappropriate thoughts. Long ago, a small part of her had accepted that she had lost complete control. But she had never expected to not even to be able to pretend to herself that she was on top of the situation. Everything made her think of Ukitake. She wasn't able to work, to focus, and she was very quietly raging inside. She needed to concentrate. She didn't need to remember how soft his hair was; the way he slid the table aside, as if asking for her permission; how she was in terrible conflict and how it melted away all of a sudden; plum blossoms; that fatal clack outside and the sharp fear of being discovered to have--

She looked up. Hinamori and the report weren't there.

"Hinamori Momo," she said softly.

"Yes?" came the timid answer from the shadows.

She had been uncommonly swift in delivering that report.

"I require some time to myself. Please take care of business here"

"Oh. Of course," said Hinamori, stepping forward a little.

Again she seemed to be waiting for something as Cheru rose from her seat and passed her by. Cheru thought she heard a very small and delicate sigh slip from the shinigami.

Despite her better instincts, she walked the paths to the court gardens, foolishly hoping to catch a glimpse of long white hair. She was disappointed as she stood alone before a cherry blossom tree. There was too much happening. She couldn't keep it all laid out in her mind. It was as if what had been calm ocean had become a torrential storm. She wanted this, but she didn't, and on it went.

She had run before because she couldn't bear the thought of being seen with him, of being seen in a such a vulnerable situation. She had lost herself then, letting herself go with the current. And now-- And now she didn't know where to go.

Her hand rested on her sword, and after a second of thought, she tightened her grip and unsheathed her zanpaktou.

"Imouto, please...I need to talk to you"

Her zanpaktou shimmered like a mirage and disappeared from sight as a young girl materialized beside her. She was dressed simply in boy's garb, and the top of her head barely reached the top of the railing. Her black hair was shoulder length, with one side of it tied up in a white ribbon. She looked out at the garden.

"It's pretty," she said.

"Imouto," said Cheru.

"How does it feel Ane? To not know where you're going tomorrow, to be borne by the wind and the water?"

Cheru didn't know how to answer.

"Do you feel?" asked Imouto, still staring outward, "Do you feel free?"

What was a zanpaktou but a part of the shinigami's soul? But Cheru didn't understand how her zanpaktou could know her so much better than she did. She closed her eyes.

"Maybe," she finally answered.

There was a pause.

"Then maybe you're improving"

"I don't," Cheru hesitated, "I don't like it"

She heard Imouto laugh. It was a cheery tinkling sort of noise. Like far-off bells.

"My big sister will never learn that it is the things we don't like that are good for us. She will never learn that the sea was meant to borne vessels and that the wind was meant to smooth the rough sands. She will never know what it is to have a real friend...a real..."

Imouto stopped, looking up sadly at Cheru. She reached out to her for a moment, then let her arm fall back to her side.

"...a real what?" asked Cheru hoarsely.

"You know...one of those"

"Tell me," whispered Cheru.

She wanted to hear the possibility so that it would become real in some sense. Spoken word could be a powerful thing, which was why she needed to talk to Imouto. If only she were to say something that she couldn't, then it would become true, and it would be okay.

"I can't," said Imouto in a thick voice, "Only you can. It's time you stop using me. I've indulged you for far too long." She sounded oddly like an adult now.

"Help me," said Cheru in a frustrated voice.

She gripped the wooden railing, refusing to look down at Imouto.

"Help yourself," said Imouto coldly.

Cheru felt a rush of wind as her zanpaktou clattered loudly on the wooden panels. She stared dumbly at it, then picked it up, resheathing it.

There was another breeze, and she was buffeted by a bunch of sakura petals. She caught a glimpse of something in the corner of her eye.

White.


	17. Crossroads

AN: Wow has it been forever. I've been away from home for a little while and had to catch up with work. Hope you haven't been too disappointed. I know it's short, but bear with me.

* * *

Hinamori didn't know how to deal with her newfound freedom. Although she wasn't chained by thoughts of Aizen anymore, she still felt the need for approval. But Cheru was begrudging of it. No matter what Hinamori did, Cheru spared hardly a glance or word. And Hinamori was dying for a sign, a touch, anything. She felt too alone, too...independent.

She tried very carefully, to sit in Cheru's seat at the desk. She was so much smaller than the chair, and the desk loomed ahead of her. She reached over to take the pen that Cheru had been using to sign off on forms. Her other hands went for a small stack of papers that still needed to be looked at. She brought her trembling right hand to the paper.

The pen's black exterior gleamed under the room lights. Hinamori remembered that glare. She remembered how so long ago, Aizen had sat in this very seat and had this pen between his long, graceful fingers. He would smile at her, then make an elegant movement with his arm, writing his signature. He was amazing. He made even the lowly task of paperwork into something when he wielded his pen.

Hinamori frowned and dropped the pen. She needed Aizen. She needed Cheru. Just anyone to fill up the huge empty space around her. She was just too small.

-+-

Cheru turned quickly to follow the telltale flap of the Captain's coat. She stopped short just around the corner of a small structure. Disappointment threatened to crush her heart. It wasn't him.

Konamura looked at her over his shoulder, pulling his lips back in a small snarl. His yellow eyes glinted at her.

"What do you want?" he asked her.

Cheru stood there, shifting her weight imperceptibly from foot to foot. He sniffed loudly, and Cheru walked very quickly back around the corner.

-+-

Hinamori was on the verge of a breakdown. Her eyes darted wildly around the room, trying to fix onto anything that would help her not shatter completely. But everything reminded her of him, of the emptiness that he had left around her. Hinamori's knuckles were white as her hands gripped the sides of her chair. She felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of her face very slowly. Why was she in such terrible agony? Why had he left her in such a way?

"Aizen..." she gasped quietly, "loves me?"

Part of her realized what was going on, that if she made it past this barrier, it would be okay...for the most part. But everything threatened to crash down, her barely constructed new peace was crumpling so quickly. She involuntarily crawled back into the place that kept her safe so far. Within her, every good memory, every smile of his--.

The doors of the office opened explosively, slamming against the walls. Cheru had returned. Hinamori jumped out of her chair, badly jolted. But Cheru was here now. Part of Hinamori forced all of the images of twinkling glasses back down and went up to Cheru immediately.

Oddly enough, she felt a surge of relief. Hinamori's throat was swollen though, and though she wanted to say so many things, words just wouldn't come out. She followed Cheru helplessly as she went to her desk, looked it over quickly, then strode back to the door to leave.

Cheru saw her subordinate staring at her with wet eyes, and averted her gaze. She didn't want to be overcome by anything right now, least of all, another wave of unwelcome emotion. That girl...in a startlingly similar way, wasn't at all well.

"Captain--," Hinamori began.

"Cheru!"

Cheru was stopped cold in her tracks as Ukitake framed the doorway. He gave a small wave, smiling widely. Hinamori did a little shuffle between the two Captains, not knowing where to place herself, but wanting to be close to Cheru at the same time. Cheru didn't know what to do, greet him, or just turn around again and sit at her desk with a pretty excuse. She placed a hand on Hinamori's shoulder, the girl absolutely refused to stand still, and firmly moved her to the side.

"Hello," said Ukitake.

It took everything she had to not look up and walk right past him.

Hinamori, unsure of what was going on, looked at Ukitake, then hurried off after her Captain. Ukitake blinked. _What_ had just _happened_? He cleared white bangs from his face with his free hand.

"That was unexpected"

Cheru made way to her personal quarters, shutting the door right as Hinamori caught up. She saw the silhouette of her Vice-Captain, and sat down, stubbornly refusing to open the door. She just wanted everything to go away. She remembered a time long ago when things were much simpler.

"Captain Tsuikyuu?"

"I'd like to be alone right now," she said in a controlled voice.

"Oh," There was a pause, "Um...okay"

Cheru watched the screen door until the shadow faded away. She then took her zanpaktou from her belt and put it aside. She just wanted to sleep.

Ukitake made his way to his quarters through a winding path, trying to find Cheru at one of her usual haunts. But she wasn't to be found anywhere, and at the fear of trespassing on her privacy, Ukitake opted to leave her private quarters alone. He found Shunsui along his wanderings and his old friend immediately picked up that something was off.

"Trouble Ukitake?" he asked.

"Not exactly"

"Eh?"

Ukiktake sighed, brushing away a strand of hair.

"I feel like I've done something wrong"

"Did you send her roses?"

"Roses? What do they have to do with anything?" Ukitake asked in dismay.

Shunsui clutched at his chest in horror.

"What do you mean Jyuu? Roses are the way to any woman's heart! It's obvious she's disappointed with your nonchalant attitude towards her!"

Ukitake looked at him with an unbelieving expression.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," said Shunsui with complete conviction, "I'm going to write a note to Nanao-chan to send roses over to your love right now. Is it okay if I sign it 'Jyuu-chan'?"

Ukitake barely refrained from rolling his eyes. It was only his uncertainty in these matters that made him allow Shunsui to act the way he did. Shunsui was busy scribbling illegibly on a scrap of paper.

"Lots and lots of roses," he muttered.


	18. Alert On

AN: I don't have much to say. Here it is? I accept that I am a bad and irresponsible person?  
**SnowSkadi**: I can understand that you miss the honorifics, but like I said, I just wanted to keep it "mainly English" since it boggles me how many inconsistencies there are within the plot itself and since personally, the honorifics throw me a bit off balance. I don't like reading them as much as hearing them. To each their own. Thanks a much for the great compliments though, I try, sometimes not as hard as I should, but I'm so happy you noticed.  
**damn416**: Me too!  
**YamiKitsuneKami**: About Hinamori... lol  
**Kawazoe Kazuma**: We'll see, won't we?  
**JenovaJuice97**: So did I, he's a little ridiculous.  
**Mishi Marie**: Wait no more!  
I forgot to put the link to this. But this is a compilation of the fic doodles I've done on my schoolwork. Pay no attention to the other pictures on the account. They are "teh suck". Since fanfictiondotnet is completely retarded, I can't link you from here, so: neopluto devart -- scraps

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Cheru spent most of her time busy with work. She did however, avoid all of strange little notes that Ukitake had taken to sending her. She left those for Hinamori, whether she chose to open them or not was her choice. She looked up as she heard clomping sounds from beyond the door and idly wondered if she should even bother getting up or not. Hinamori solved the problem for her by rushing to open the door and Cheru felt herself staring through it.

"Please, Captain Tsuikyuu, if you wouldn't mind too much--," gasped one of her subordinates.

He was sagging underneath the weight of what looked like a thousand roses fit impossibly into a straw basket. The two women froze for a moment, stunned by the sheer number of flowers they faced. Cheru's fingers stopped twirling the pen and she gave a curt nod to Hinamori to help him. Together they managed to set the basket onto a low-lying table near the window.

"This is not at all Ukitake's...style," Cheru thought to herself.

"Thank you," she told the shinigami, who saluted weakly and loped off as best he could.

"Who would give you so many roses, Captain?" Hinamori asked in wonder.

The girl was by them, stroking the petals and admiring the fullness of them. Cheru resumed toying with the pen and reading the messages before her.

"I have no idea," she said in a sarcastic tone.

Hinamori made a mental note to avoid her Captain when she was as talkative as she had been so far today.

That afternoon, Cheru was out in the training yard overseeing the practices. She had managed to avoid Ukitake and whatever other packages he was sending out by rerouting them to the office or alternately, to Hinamori. She almost felt bad for her, the amount of roses must have been tenfold by now.

Cheru didn't know what she felt towards Ukitake exactly. It was so confusing. Weren't you usually friends with a person first? Wasn't that feeling the one you got before a fight with a particularly nasty Hollow? Wasn't it that she had chosen to be alone? Well she knew, and yet, some stupidly stubborn part of her refused to acknowledge it. She gave a derisive sniff.

"Captain Tsuikyuu"

Cheru looked to where the voice came from and found Hinamori at her side, kneeling.

"A large host of low ranking Arrancar and Hollows are gathering at the Eastern Gate. We've already cleared out that area of Rukongai and set up squads to attack"

Cheru thought for a second. The attacks were becoming more frequent, almost as if they were reconnaissance missions. She still needed to gauge the strength of the Arrancar, and Mayuri had installed spirit-particle decimating cannons at each of the entry points of Sereitei only two weeks ago. His Division's efforts would be wasted if Aizen were to discover them so early.

"Come," she said to Hinamori and flash-stepped towards the Gate.

Cheru fell out of step effortlessly as she neared the Gate and addressed the three squads in front of her.

"Please stay at least fifty meters from the Gates when fighting. Do not attempt to purify any Arrancar ranking above D level. Keep in mind that your mission here is to eliminate this threat. It is most likely that they are here for Aizen's reconnaisance, it would be of no help to us if he gained more information," Cheru watched Hinamori carefully as she very clearly pronounced Aizen's name.

Cheru looked back towards the gate and nodded for the first group lined up to go through. She sensed Hinamori come to her as she watched the gate open slowly and shinigami run out.

"You're with me," said Cheru to Hinamori.

Suddenly, Hinamori was beginning to feel panicky all over again. Aizen-- Hitsugaya--  
Aizen...Danger Danger Danger  
Danger Danger Danger Danger  
Danger Danger Danger Danger  
Danger Danger Danger Danger  
Danger Danger Danger Danger  
Danger Danger Danger Danger!  
Hinamori felt herself slide back into chaos. She tried desperately to hold onto something, but there was nothing on either side.

"Grab your sword," said Cheru, as if prepping her.

The clarity of her voice cut through the discord. A life-line was cast out.

Hinamori's hand trembled just slightly as she brought it over to her zanpaktou. Her fingers curled over it, and she realized with a jolt how long it had been since she had held her zanpaktou. Too long. All this time, still, her vision had been clouded with him. She made a vow to fight it, overcome it, and slowly her grip tightened, her stance stiffened.

"Are you ready?" Chery asked, the question was _the_ question.

Cheru peered down at Hinamori, unaware of what gravity her words held. Hinamori stared back into her Captain's eyes, and as seconds spilled by, she nodded.

The two ran out through the Gate, passing by the shinigami fighting all around them. Hinamori's eyes narrowed as she unsheathed her sword. Things were becoming clearer now. The sharp lines of swords and bodies though, didn't scare her as much anymore.

"Captain!" a shout rang out.

"I'm gonna kill you!" roared a mal-formed Arrancar as it charged away from several shinigami, towards Cheru.

Hinamori's brow creased as she prepared to fight, but Cheru beat her to it. She gracefully jumped and landed on the outstretched arm of the Arrancar. The shinigami that tried to warn her stopped short and watched with his mouth agape, thinking perhaps that he had been too late to save his Captain from the unexpected attack. Hinamori had complete faith in her.

Cheru ran up the arm, adjusting the attempts to shake her off, and once reaching the head, removed her blade from its scabbard and sliced through the Arrancar in one strike. It gave a horrible yell as it disappeared and Cheru leapt down from the remains of the Arrancar to meet her subordinates.

"Thank you," said Cheru tersely.

The shinigami was speechless, and managed to salute to her as a response.

Cheru and Hinamori moved on through the melee.

Hinamori thought she heard Tobiume sing as she struck down scores of Arrancar with her Captain. The tune, so long unheard, startled her at first. Cheru prevented a claw from going through her stomach, and for once, Hinamori didn't look up to be grateful. Instead, she tried to listen harder, and held her sword tighter. The song became louder, fuller, and Hinamori fought to keep the tears from her eyes. She had been so stupid. But that pattern was ended now. She parried a blow from an Arrancar and returned it, eliminating it.

As routine has it may have been, Cheru felt refreshed from the change of pace. She had to remind herself at several moments though, to keep herself under control. There was already a breach of information with her fighting, but it was more important that Aizen not know of the new technological improvements they had made. She made an effort to destroy the Arrancar as efficiently as possible. Soon it became a sort of chess game where she had to win using as few moves as possible.

The Arrancar were similar to their Hollow counterparts only in that they were slightly weaker at where their masks met their faces. For all other aspects, they were like water and oil. Although they were incredibly agressive, they were more intelligent, and that was what led to problems. Arrancar worked together. They schemed to trap their victims and had distinct personalities, remnants from their past murderous selves. Hollows are on the whole, mindless. It made killing them easier. With Arrancar, one always had to be wary of where they were, what they said, and how they reacted.

"Come on! What's the girl doing? Is she afraid?" one of them jeered at Cheru.

He waved his zanpaktou in the air, a cruelly curved scimitar with a skull-head pommel. The only mistake Cheru made was being too focused on it alone. As she headed towards the Arrancar with her swordarm outstretched, four more clambered out from around the wrecked houses. She narrowly avoided projectile zanpaktou as she flash-stepped from side to side. If she just had her naginata, the problem of reach would be solved. But she suppressed the urge to change her sword's shape and relied on her speed instead.

The Arrancar formed a ring around her, attempting to bury her in the flurry of all their weapons combined. Cheru was now in the middle and stood with her right hand holding her zanpaktou in her customary backwards grip. She made miniscule adjustments to her position as shuriken rained down and ran into a full flash-step as she sensed the scimitar coming down behind her.

"You think you're fast? We're faster!" one of them shouted, following her.

Cheru turned around and stopped short, crouching just slightly with her sword held blade-side out in front of her. The Arrancar could not stop and was cut in two. There was a spray of blood that began to disappear as the Arrancar disintegrated. Cheru returned to flash-step, and kicked off the supporting beam of a house towards the next Arrancar. It held a mace that it swung in wild circles. Cheru made to go through the swings when she was struck from behind. She was already running hot on reiatsu that it hadn't managed to hurt her, but the blow had stunned her. A female Arrancar grinned as she looked up.

"No one can beat the Arrancar!" she proclaimed, and sped downwards for a finished blow.

Cheru turned over, preparing to accelerate from the ground straight up to meet the challenge.

"_Hajike, Tobiume!_"

A fiery pink ball of energy appeared ontop of the Arrancar, and hit her squarely behind the neck. Cheru kicked off the ground in her horizontal configuration, the top half of her body slowly rising so that soon she looked like she was standing. She saw the Arrancar's eyes widen, in shock, anger, and switched her sword grip, using two hands to hew off the head.

Cheru stood in the air, prespiring just a little. She felt lucky, almost, to have Hinamori's help. Her Vice-Captain landed on a rooftop some distance away. Her eyes seemed to blaze with a new kind of passion.

The pair took care of the remaining Arrancar and had a final sweep of the area to make sure none were hiding. Shinigami came back through the gates, a little worse for wear, but on the whole, all right. Cheru resheathed her sword as she entered and addressed the squads, commending their work.

She saw Ukitake standing some distance away with a familiar cohort. They approached.

"Captain Tsuikyuu, so glad to see you! Ukitake and I were just passing by, going for a nice walk, along the outer rim of Sereitei, and you?"

Shunsui felt a chill as Cheru looked at him. It was amazing how she made it feel like she was taller than you.

"You're stepping on my coat," she said coldly.

"Am I, really?" Shunsui asked, genuinely shocked.

"I'm so-," he began, looking down to remove his foot. Surely his wooing skills hadn't degraded to such a level!

There was no coat.

He looked up to see Cheru and Hinamori gone.

"Hey Ukitake...that was fast," he said, in a much calmer tone.

"Yes, I know," the other Captain replied with a sigh of acceptance.


	19. Coming to Their Senses

AN: It has been a long time. I have no one to blame but myself, but in my defense, it's not exactly easy writing well...squishy stuff. I'm sorry to say that I've really got to run off, which means no individual responses, except to one Bog Monster who's forced me to write A LOT back. Bog Monster, please go here to read if you wish: niftykins. livejournal .com/ 925. html

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Cheru made it to the office without breaking a sweat while Hinamori collapsed into a chair. The girl wiped her brow and took in a couple of deep breaths. That was the most footwork she had done in years.

Cheru took a seat at her desk, marking off papers as if nothing had happened, or with the semblance of that. Hinamori sat up and twisted her mouth to the side of her face. She wasn't sure if she understood what was going on. She was afraid to even guess really. Could it be that this entire time her Captain had..._feelings_ for Captain Ukitake? Hinamori almost snorted in delight. It was all too perfect and strange! She couldn't even imagine them going for a leisurely walk around Sereitei, let alone holding hands. Oh, these thoughts were just too bizarre for her. She coughed politely and covered her mouth.

"Are you ill, Hinamori," asked Cheru, her voice flat, shearing through Hinamori's thoughts like a knife.

"Oh no. I'm sorry, Captain," said Hinamori, trying to subdue herself.

But it made sense didn't it? The thought was a persistent barb in her side. Their...relationship, would account for all the strange behavior that had been going on. She had just been too out of it to really take notice. And to think, that Captain Ukitake returned any sentiment at all. While the idea was completely foreign to Hinamori, it seemed almost... She hesitated to even think the word.

She followed the flight of yet another high-priority envelope as it sailed into the trashbin.

"Cute"

"Did you say something, Hinamori?"

Hinamori's face flushed a bright red.

"I was just talking to myself"

"Evidently"

Hinamori felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach. She just wanted to die inside. It was too ridiculous to be true.

The next morning, Cheru set off towards the Twelfth Division's headquarters in order to speak with Captain Mayuri. She found his building to be in stark contrast with hers. There were no people scurrying around going about their work. It was eerily silent and dark.

She cautiously opened the door with one hand and entered. The door ended up opening not to a room, but an elevator that slowly descended underground. Cheru felt testy in the grey steel box. Her entire body was tense as the elevator finally stopped, and the door opened once again.

"Captain Tsuikyuu," said Nemu quietly, welcoming her in.

"I've come to see Mayuri"

"Of course"

Cheru's eyes darted from place to place as she followed Nemu through the labyrinth of passageways. She found Mayuri's lab underground to be a completely different world than the one she had just come from. The bluish glow of countless computer screens illuminated things creepily, creating nightmarish images of the shinigami around her. Cheru wondered if any of these...mice that Mayuri had recruited had ever seen the light of day. The way they hunched over they keyboards and screens made it seem like they were conceived and birthed in the dark. Cheru passed a shinigami who took a brief moment to look at her. His eyes reminded her of those of a monster. She looked away quickly, choosing to walk a bit faster.

"Captain," said Nemu as they entered a larger room.

Cheru stepped out from behind Nemu.

Mayuri turned around from a computer console. The awful glittering look in his eyes appeared to be delight at her arrival.

-+-

Hinamori found herself lacking things to do. She had dutifully finished all of the remaining paperwork and deliveries that her Captain had left behind, and now stood outside her Division Headquarters, wondering what to do next. She saw people pass by, busy with their own business. Captain Ukitake was among the crowd. He walked at a leisurely pace with Captain Kyouraku. He seemed surprisingly unhappy. His hand went up with hardly any energy as he described something to his friend. The bags under his eyes looked darker than usual. Hinamori lips turned downwards in a slight frown. Her Captain's problems however, were her own. She had made that very clear from her behavior. 

Hinamori rubbed her fingernails, trying to get her mind off of her Captain. She proceeded to bite her lip as she suddenly remembered her inappropriate behavior toward Hitsugaya earlier.

"Now would be a good time to apologize..." she murmured to herself.

Hinamori looked back at the office, then headed for the Tenth Division's Headquarters. She found her childhood friend with little effort. He was outside his office, looking towards the training square ahead of him with a crease in his brow. She couldn't help but smile. Hitsugaya was always so serious. She tried to suppress the spring in her step as she walked over to him. She put her hands behind her back.

"Hitsugaya!" she called out.

He turned around, his face still stern as he did so. Hinamori stopped short of hugging him and leaned forward, smiling. His features softened as she smiled.

"How are you, Hinamori?" he asked.

"I'm very well, thank you," she said cheerily.

He arched an eyebrow.

"Really? Have you been very busy? The work's not too hard, is it?" he asked, probing.

"No...it's fine. Captain Tsuikyuu's not as harsh as she looks"

"Hinamori, are you feeling well?" asked Hitsugaya suddenly, reaching for her hand.

Hinamori looked down in embarrassment. She wasn't sure how to react to this sort of show of emotion. She took a deep breath and looked up at Hitsugaya again, trying to smile bravely.

"I'm not under his spell anymore, Hitsuaya. I-I loved him, but it was all an act. I understand that now. Besides, how long was I going to just slack off?" She gave a nervous little laugh. "A Vice-Captain is always needed, right?"

Hinamori tensed as Hitsugaya placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hitsugaya..." she said, her voice shaking just a bit.

There was an awkward silence as he looked deep into her eyes. He was beginning to scare her.

"I...am so proud of you," he said at last, giving a squeeze with his hand.

The tight coil of snakes in the pit of Hinamori's stomach finally loosened as Hitsugaya uttered these words.

"I-It really wasn't just me, Hitsugaya..." said Hinamori, trailing off as he let her go.

His blue-green eyes seemed less icy than usual. Hinamori was afraid he might cry. All of this was most unbecoming of her childhood friend. She reached out to him tentatively.

"Hi-," she started.

"I was just thinking about how much you've grown," he said curtly.

Hinamori's hand dropped to her side as he regained his composure. Hitsugaya cleared his throat and looked upwards into the sky for a moment. For the first time since the Aizen's betrayal, he felt tension leave his body. It seemed that he had been keeping himself more wound up than he had thought. Hinamori occupied such a large part of his heart...how could he not have noticed the stress growing day after day? He noticed Hinamori becoming increasingly worried about his strange behavior. He smiled, trying to dispel her fears.

"It's good," he finally said, "It's good and I don't want you to lose it. You've lost enough time as it is"

"Thanks...Hitsugaya," she said bashfully.

He nodded his head just slightly. There was another matter to take care of, however. It occured to him now that he had been too brash before. He gave a great aggravated sigh on the inside. Apologies never came easily.

"I have some things to do, Hinamori. I'll see you later," he said.

Hinamori waved bye as Hitsugaya walked away purposefully.

-+-

"Ukitake, I hope you aren't seeing me for medical reasons"

Ukitake stepped under the gazebo Unohana Retsu was standing in. She turned her serene face towards him, inviting whatever questions he had to be asked. He felt childish even thinking to ask her for help. Somehow, going to Shunsui was okay. Maybe it was because he was another man, or because he just inherently understood everything about him. Whatever the case was, it didn't make him feel like an ignorant five-year old boy...as it did now.

"No, that's not the case," he said.

"Is there anything else I can do for you then? You don't seem yourself"

Ukitake sighed, looking out towards the garden surrounding the gazebo. She was being far too cordial with him.

"I'm sorry, but I must be on my way. We can talk further if you don't mind walking," she said suddenly, moving to exit the space.

Ukitake followed, his mind spinning a bit with what he wanted to say, what he wanted to confess.

"There is a woman I have...fallen in love with..." he began.

-+-

Mayuri's ash-white fingers flew over the keyboard as he entered new information into the database. Cheru stood behind him, reading over his shoulder. She tried not to stand too close to him in fear of touching even his coat. His gave off a distinctive aura that she didn't care to near.

"So they're trying to find out what surprises I have planned for them," said Mayuri, sounding irritated and gleeful at the same time.

"There was hardly any strategy to their attack. Provocation of the defenses seemed most probable," said Cheru, trying to sound as clinical as possible.

"Hmph. I'll show the blundering idiot what it means to be the Captain of the Twelfth Division. I submitted a request to use modified souls against the Arrancar to the Commander-General. It defeats me why he hasn't approved it yet," said Mayuri, muttering to himself half the time.

"I'm sure he'll see reason," said Cheru, feeling uncommonly talkative. Perhaps it was the void the darkness underground made.

Mayuri brought up schematics onscreen. He pointed to the image of a blank-faced Arrancar-like entity.

"That is my Mod-Soul Arrancar Shock Unit," he said proudly, "A being synthesized from the modified souls and the remains of certain Arrancar I have...acquired. It's made to break Arrancar ranks, with brutal force of course," he looked over his shoulder towards Cheru with an awful grin.

"Of course," she echoed.

There was an awkward silence as he returned to typing. Cheru caught Captain profiles flashing in quick succession in the bottom right corner of the screen. Her name appeared for a moment and disappeared. She felt a chill. She didn't like the thought of being kept on file here.

"Captain Tsuikyuu, you wouldn't mind being part of a little experiment I have, would you?" he asked suddenly.

"If my report is done, I really must be going," she said, feeling the need to leave quickly.

"Pity," he said, and turned back to the screen, paying no more notice to her.

Cheru hurried out of the Twelfth Division's headquarters, saying a brief goodbye to Nemu along the way. As she exited the builing, she recoiled, shielding her eyes with an arm. The sun seemed unnaturally bright, and it took some time for her to adjust. She continued to squint as she made her way towards her Division Headquarters to get a little rest. She made out the figure of a familiar Captain making his way towards her. As if to mock her, several other Captains were strolling in that same area, including a certain one she had been avoiding for quite some time.

She picked up the pace, hoping that the future encounter was a mistake.

She had made it halfway across the square before Captain Hitsugaya skillfully intercepted her. She had absolutely no desire to jump through more political and emotional hoops for the short-statured shinigami, and tried to breeze past him as if she hadn't noticed him and had much more important matters to see to.

"Captain Tsuikyuu!"

His voice made her freeze on the spot.

"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya," she said, turning around.

His brisk jog came to a halt as well. She could hardly see his chest rise and fall with the effort to keep up with her, but oddly enough, it was easy to notice him taking a deep breath. Cheru's first thought was that he was getting ready to shout at her again. She took a step back.

"Please," he started, in an unusually ceremonial fasion, "I've come to apologize"

-+-

Unohana's lively step had slowed into a leisurely stroll as Ukitake continued to talk. Awkward at first, he became increasingly expressive and desperate to convey to her exactly how he felt about Cheru. Unohana had taken the role of the listener as he poured out all his thoughts to her. By the time they had reached the courtyard square, he was spent; both phsyically and mentally. He had never realized how much he kept pent up inside him. It felt good to let it go. He felt like the floodgates had been opened, and everything had been washed away.

He looked out past several passing shinigami and he felt something clench his heart. It was as if all the waters that had been released were rushing back and buffetting him with all their might. His step faltered. She was there.

It was like nothing fazed her. Everything about her was the same, completely and utterly constant. She was an alabaster statue that had withstood the tests of time, through storm and sea. He caught a glimpse of her face, dismissive it seemed, distant...as always.

However, something was wrong with this picture. Where she should have been alone, she wasn't: Hitsugaya was with her, speaking about what, he did not know. Ukitake felt something new and ugly crawl into him, making him slowly ball his hands into fists and his body shake. Was this jealousy? He scoffed at the mere idea, then covered his face with his hands.

"What do I do?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Unohana had been standing there for some time, but she did not rush her words.

"Ukitake, you need no reassurance that you're a good man"

"Then why won't she accept me?" his normally strong and confident voice sounded too meek to be his. He did not face Unohana and instead, looked longingly into the distance.

"The question you are confronted with is not one of your chivalry. If anything Ukitake, you are too much of a gentleman. I must admit that women are strange creatures, but it is so clear to everyone that she accepted you long ago. You just couldn't believe it, and haven't been able to see it since. For all your inner strength and fortitude Ukitake, you are such a scared man. Captain Tsuikyuu, for I have not earned her friendship so that I can call her as you do, shields herself for reasons I'm sure you very well know. You have gone so far with her, but cannot bring yourself to make the final thrust. You should ask yourself, why are you so afraid?"

He turned his head to her slowly, unwillingly, as if the wind was moving him there.

"Unerring kindness can only reach so far," she said, her eyes meeting his.

-+-

Cheru did not know how to respond, and so stood there, waiting for Hitsugaya to continue. He looked up at her, determined to go through with it.

"I have been too overprotective of Hinamori, and too critical of you. Believe me when I say that I wasn't thinking straight when I had taken out my anger on you. It was uncalled for and childish of me. I also...wanted to thank you for what doing I couldn't do. I was unable to fulfill my role as her guardian, instead, trying to shield her from everything possible, whether it be harmful or beneficial. Though it may not have been your intention, you helped her become an independent person again. You--"

He paused, his lips thinning into a straight line.

"You essentially brought her back to life. And for that, I am forever indebteded to you"

A million things were going through Cheru's mind. The most prominent was a sense of paralyzing shock and a solemn disbelief of the events going on now. Who was she to be congratulated, apologized to, or thanked? Although on the outside, it was probable that her countenance had not changed in the slightest, she felt quite faint. With some effort, Cheru worked to gather the words which to address Hitsugaya with.

"Thank you"

-+-

Ukitake's eyes were closed.

He felt like a hypocrite. All this time he had been preaching to others to be strong when he couldn't do the same when it really mattered.

_For once, Ukitake, swallow your ridiculous self-sacrificing pride and walk up to her!_ he shouted at himself.

And his body began to move.

His first jerky and hesitant steps turned into more purposeful strides. The scenery around him became blurred and hazy. The only thing clear in his field of vision was her. And soon he was close, he could smell the faint scent of plum blossoms. She turned. He reached out to hold her arm in a none too gentle grip. His mouth spoke of its own accord.

"Tsuikyuu Cheru, I love you"

Cheru's ears were ringing, and yet, she could still hear his words loud and clear. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. It wasn't true! No one could love her because--

"I love no one" the words left her lips, cold as ice.

_'You love no one...and it never occurred to you that I might mind'_

_'And who are you to judge?' a younger her said impulsively, 'You're just--'_

_Ane stared back at her. It was difficult to tell whether if she was on the verge of a breakdown, or not, '...I'm you'_

Cheru felt overcome by a flood of memories and emotions she had buried. She struggled to keep her face passive. It was impossible. He looked down at her with such passion and tenderness that she felt herself crumbling. She grabbed the arm that was holding her and pulled herself towards him, placing her head in the hollow of his neck.

For the first time in her life, she felt utterly safe.

A moment passed where they stood there, without words or movement. The rising and falling rhythyms of each others chests comforted them, told them that they were still alive. And as if to say 'no more hiding', Ukitake lifted Cheru from him, forcing her to look at him in the eye.

He had never seen a more beautiful disaster.

The facade she had built was smashed. Pieces of it littered the ground and glittered in the sun. Tears streaked her face like the trackmarks of hundreds of fairies. The brushed aside the remnants, reaching over to remove several more fragments. He cupped her face with his hands.

"I lied," she whispered so quietly that he could barely hear.

Ukitake nodded and gave a little smile.

"You had me fooled"

Hitsugaya had excused himself some time back. He had done what he set out to do. And besides, he was no good at private moments.


End file.
